SCOTLAND

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on levels of recruitment from Scotland to  (a) the Royal Air Force,  (b) the Royal Navy,  (c) the Army and  (d) the Royal Marines.

Ann McKechin: The Secretary of State and I are in regular contact with Defence Ministers on a range of issues. Recruitment to the armed forces is a matter for Defence Ministers.

Departmental Bank Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with which banks his Department has or has had contracts for the provision of financial advice, for the financial year 2008-09.

Ann McKechin: For the financial year 2008-09, the Scotland Office have held contracts with banks for the provision of banking operational services only, and not for the provision of financial advice.

Departmental Training

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2009,  Official Report, column 501W, on departmental training, which Ministers attended the  (a) presentation and public speaking skills course and  (b) introduction workshop for new Ministers; and how much those courses cost.

Ann McKechin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1287W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Sudanese government's decision to expel the staff of a number of international aid agencies from Darfur on the humanitarian situation in the region; what representations his Department has made to the Sudanese government following these expulsions; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The expulsion of 13 major international (and three national) non-governmental organisations will have a devastating impact on levels of humanitarian assistance in Sudan. UN officials have told the UN Security Council this will disrupt up to 50 per cent. of the current humanitarian effort in Darfur. Consequences will be most severe in Darfur, but will also affect humanitarian, recovery and development assistance throughout north Sudan, particularly in conflict-affected regions of the transitional areas and the east.
	Our ambassador has urged government of Sudan to reverse its decision. The EU issued a statement on 10 March 2009 calling upon government of Sudan to urgently reconsider their decision, and ensure that humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in Sudan be continuously guaranteed.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The expulsion of 13 major international (and three national) non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will have a devastating impact on levels of humanitarian assistance in Sudan. UN officials have told the UN Security Council this will disrupt up to 50 per cent. of the current humanitarian effort in Darfur. Consequences will be most severe in Darfur, but will also affect humanitarian and recovery and development assistance throughout north Sudan particularly in conflict-affected regions of the transitional areas and the east. As well as increased risk of disease, malnutrition and deaths, lack of water, food and shelter could increase insecurity, particularly in large, volatile camps like Kalma (90,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Gereida (130,000) in south Darfur. Civil disturbances and mass movement of IDPs seeking help could quickly take the situation out of control.
	The UK is the second biggest bilateral humanitarian donor after the US, and we have requested that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs brief the UN Security Council on the current situation on the ground. Together with the UN and NGOs we are keeping the situation under close review and are urgently exploring all options to fill the gap left by this action. Initial reports estimate that this could take months if Sudan does not reverse its decision in the near future.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that aid reaches those who need it in Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is the second biggest bilateral humanitarian donor after the US, and we have requested that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs brief the UN Security Council on the current situation on the ground. Together with the UN and non-governmental organisations we are keeping the situation under close review and are urgently exploring all options to fill the gap left by this action. Initial reports estimate that this could take months if Sudan does not reverse its decision in the near future.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement on 4 March 2009 in which he strongly urged all parties in Sudan to avoid escalation, maintain order and protect embassies, international personnel and humanitarian workers, and above all the Sudanese civilians who have already suffered so much.
	The statement is available for viewing at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=Press S&id:=14479209

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Clerk of the House

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff of each grade  (a) were employed in the Office of the Clerk of the House before the Tebbit Review of Management and Services of the House was implemented and  (b) are employed in the Office of the Chief Executive; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The Tebbit Review recommended that the scope of the activities of the Office of the Clerk of the House should be expanded to embrace planning and performance management functions, and an increased communication co-ordination role; that its staffing numbers should be increased; and that it be renamed the Office of the Chief Executive to reflect its larger role.
	In December 2007, immediately before the departmental restructuring which followed the Tebbit Review, there were 12 staff (11.6 full-time equivalent) in the Office of the Clerk of the House. There are currently 21 staff (20.2 full-time equivalent) in the Office of the Chief Executive. A breakdown by band is given in the following tables. Most of the increase in staff is accounted for by the transfer to the OCE of functions from other Departments (principally internal audit, risk management and internal communications), so there has not been a corresponding increase in the total number of staff in the House Service.
	
		
			  Office of the Clerk 
			  Band  Number of staff (full-time equivalent) 
			 SCSI 1 
			 Al 1 
			 A2 4.6 
			 B2 3 
			 C 1 
			 D2 1 
			 Total 11.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Office of the Chief Executive 
			  Band  Number of staff (full-time equivalent) 
			 SCS1A 1 
			 SCSI 1 
			 A1 1 
			 A2 7.2 
			 B1 3 
			 B2 5 
			 C 2 
			 Total 20.2

Management and Services of the House of Commons Review

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what recent representations the Commission has received on the implementation of the Tebbit Review of Management and Services of the House; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The House of Commons Commission has received no recent representations about the implementation of the Tebbit Review. It has received six-monthly progress reports from the Management Board on actions agreed in response to the review; the most recent was in December.

Management and Services of the House of Commons Review

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate the Commission has made of the effects on expenditure on House administration of implementation of the recommendations of the Tebbit Review of Management and Services of the House; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: It is intended that the implementation of the recommendations of the Tebbit Preview will lead over time to better management of the House Service and to greater efficiency in the delivery of the House administration. The costs of implementing the Tebbit recommendations have been met out of existing budgets, by efficiency savings in existing areas of work.

Postal Services

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the mail screening contract for Parliament will next be re-tendered.

Nick Harvey: The current mail screening contract runs until September 2010. Work to retender the contract will commence in the autumn of 2009.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Concessions

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department provided in  (a) 2002-03 and  (b) 2007-08 for the concessionary bus fares scheme in the Torbay Unitary Authority area; what the growth in passenger numbers during this period was; what proportion of the cost of the scheme in Torbay Unitary Authority area has been met by (i) the Exchequer and (ii) the local unitary authority since 2002; and what percentage of the population in (A) Torbay Unitary Authority area and (B) England is aged over 60 years and entitled to a concessionary bus fare.

Paul Clark: Before 1 April 2008, funding for the statutory minimum bus concession was provided exclusively through the Formula Grant system, which is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). The Department for Transport therefore provided no separate funding to Torbay Unitary Authority for concessionary bus travel in 2002-03 or 2007-08.
	The Department did however provide Torbay unitary authority with £120,832 in 2007-08 for the cost of producing and issuing the new England-wide bus passes to all those eligible.
	In 2008-09 Torbay unitary authority received additional special grant funding from the Department for Transport of £980,000; an increase of 38 per cent. on the authority's spend on concessionary travel in 2007-08. The total number of bus journeys rose by 14 per cent. in England between 2002-03 and 2007-08. In 2007-08, 968 million concessionary trips were made in England. We do not hold data on the number of concessionary trips made in prior years.
	In Torbay, 30 per cent. of the population is over-60, compared to 22 per cent. in the rest of England.

Driving: Insurance

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department collects on the insurance status of drivers involved in road traffic accidents in each police authority area; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Transport does not collect any information on the insurance status of drivers involved in reported personal injury road accidents.

Driving: Multiple Sclerosis

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers diagnosed with multiple sclerosis hold long-term driving licences.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Accurate statistics on the total number of long-term licences held by drivers with multiple sclerosis are not available and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) only holds data on those drivers with multiple sclerosis who have notified the agency of their medical condition. Between 2004 and 2007 DVLA issued approximately 8,000 driving licences to Group 1 (car and motorcycle) drivers with multiple sclerosis and these included long-term licences.
	The current licensing system places a legal obligation on the applicant/licence holder to notify, at any time, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of the onset or worsening of any medical condition which may affect their fitness to drive.

Driving: Multiple Sclerosis

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licences which would have expired on the holder's 70th birthday have been revoked consequent on changes in application of the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to drivers with multiple sclerosis.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The statistical information required is not available.
	Licences are revoked or restricted for a number of reasons which may or may not relate solely to the driver's condition of multiple sclerosis. In some cases other prescribed or prospective disabilities may also be relevant to the decision. In cases where multiple sclerosis is the sole factor, changes to the validity or duration of a licence are dependent on information received from the driver and, on investigation, from medical opinion of the rate and level of progression of the driver's condition and any consequent impairment relevant to driving.
	In order to obtain the required material information, each case that has been assessed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency would need to be reviewed individually, to establish whether the strengthening of the operational framework in 2006 influenced the decision on the licensing.

Driving: Multiple Sclerosis

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes have been made in the application of the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in respect of the renewal of the driving licences of drivers with multiple sclerosis; and when each change was implemented.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 require multiple sclerosis to be considered as a prospective disability. Drivers who notify the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of the condition are assessed against the standards set out in DVLA's "At a Glance Guide to the Current Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive", in relation to chronic neurological conditions (including multiple sclerosis). Neither the standards, nor the requirement for drivers to notify of such a prospective disability, have changed.
	In early 2006, following the publication of new diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis by the American Neurological Association, operational guidance for case management was made more robust to ensure consistency of assessment and outcome.

High Speed Two: Finance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department has issued to High Speed Two Ltd on the availability of funds.

Paul Clark: High Speed Two is funded directly from the Department for Transport. The funding arrangements are set out in a letter from the permanent secretary to a then director of the company, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Highways Agency: Members

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to direct the Highways Agency to accept requests from hon. Members to accompany them to site meetings in relation to work authorised by the Highways Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  for what reasons the Highways Agency decided that no member of staff would accompany the hon. Member for Walsall North to a site meeting in his constituency on 20 March in relation to work being undertaken under the authorisation of the Highways Agency;
	(3)  what mechanisms are used by the Highways Agency for public consultation on work it plans to undertake which is likely to affect households near the site of such work;
	(4)  if he will make it his policy to direct the Highways Agency to notify each household in an area in which work authorised by the Highways Agency is to be carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: holding answer 20 March 2009
	The Highways Agency already accepts reasonable requests to meet hon. Members either on site or separately on any schemes for which it is responsible.
	Representatives from the Highways Agency accompanied the hon. Member for Walsall, North to a site meeting on 20 March to discuss the details of the Active Traffic Management scheme currently being undertaken on the M6 in his constituency.
	Where appropriate, the Highways Agency consults those likely to be affected by schemes being undertaken, and this was the case with the scheme on the M6. The Highways Agency has followed all environmental assessment and statutory procedures, including issuing public notices. It has listened to concerns raised, and has taken residents' concerns about current noise levels into consideration. An exhibition is planned where further issues can be raised. The scheme design has also been reviewed in the light of comments received.
	Schemes carried out by the Highways Agency on or near highway land vary in complexity and scale. For schemes planned outside of the highway boundary, such as bypass work, the Highways Agency makes every effort to contact individual households and businesses likely to be affected.
	Work carried out within the highway boundary tends to be of a relatively smaller scale, or is carried out as part of a routine maintenance programme. Although there is no statutory requirement for local residents to be contacted ahead of schemes taking place within the highway boundary, and it would be impractical and costly for the Highway's Agency to undertake to contact individual households for each one of these schemes, the Highways Agency seeks to ensure that public involvement takes place in a proportionate manner.

Intercity Express Programme

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the evidential basis is for his statement of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1531-3W, on new trains (investment) that the award of the contract to Agility Trains and Hitachi and granting preferred bidder status to Bombardier in relation to extra carriages on the Stansted Express will safeguard or create 12,500 jobs.

Paul Clark: These figures are based on information given by Agility Trains to the Department of Transport and we believe Agility's analysis to be sound.
	The figure is exclusive of any job benefits arising as a result of the announcement of Bombardier's status as Preferred Bidder for extra carriages on Stansted Express.

Motor Vehicles: Safety

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many stretch limousines were checked by Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to ensure compliance with construction requirements in 2008; and what percentage were deemed to be compliant.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 20 March 2009
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has only recently introduced the capacity to record a specific vehicle type as a limousine. Previously vehicles were classed as either cars or Public Service Vehicles (PSV)s.
	VOSA's records show that 58 checks were carried out on limousines in 2008. It is not possible to determine levels of compliance.

Railways

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department have worked on projects relating to high speed rail  (a) between April and 29 September 2008 and  (b) after 29 September 2008.

Paul Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer on 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1189W.

Railways

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average journey time by train was from London to  (a) Newcastle,  (b) Cardiff,  (c) Birmingham,  (d) Manchester and  (e) Plymouth in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not hold the information at the level of detail requested. However, Network Rail is the custodian of timetable and performance data for the rail industry, and will be able to provide this information. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his question:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London, NW1 2EE.

Roads and Railways

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost of constructing a mile of  (a) motorway and  (b) railway was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Clark: The estimated range of construction costs for one mile of three-lane motorway with a continuous hard shoulder is from £21.4 million to £35.0 million. The estimated rates cover the construction costs of a new dual three-lane rural motorway including detailed design costs and statutory undertakers' diversions, but excluding land costs, VAT and Highways Agency's Agent and administration costs.
	The Channel Tunnel Rail Link between Folkestone and London St. Pancras, which was built over the nine years to 2007, cost £5.8 billion in outturn money of the day costs, for the 68 miles, an average of £85.3 million per mile of railway. These costs include the two new stations on the line, the upgrading and restoration of the Grade 1 listed St. Pancras, extensive tunnelling under London, tunnels under the Thames and North Downs, and the long viaducts at Ashford, across the River Medway and crossing the M25 at Dartford.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers the Highways Agency has to requisition supplies of grit from local authorities; and on what occasions these powers have been used.

Paul Clark: During the severe weather in February, the Secretary of State for Transport had no power to requisition supplies of road salt or grit from local authorities. Informal arrangements have been put into place between both local and strategic highway authorities for the agreed provision of mutual aid to those authorities that require additional salt stocks during the winter season. During the recent severe weather, the Highways Agency agreed to provide 5,294 tonnes of salt to a number of local authorities.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Statement of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1531-3, how many of the 12,500 jobs he expects will be  (a) existing jobs safeguarded and  (b) new jobs created (i) in the train vehicle manufacturing industry and (ii) for third party suppliers to the industry; and on what assumptions these estimates are based.

Paul Clark: holding answer 6 March 2009
	Agility Trains anticipates that of the estimated 12,500 total jobs to be created or safeguarded, 2,500 will be directly employed by the Agility Trains consortium. Of these, 1,400 (estimate) jobs will be safeguarded in train maintenance, and 1,100 (estimate) jobs will be created in train and factory construction.
	Of the remaining estimated 10,000 jobs Agility Trains anticipate that they are likely to be within train vehicle component suppliers, third party suppliers and the wider economy. Agility Trains advises that it has adopted an industry standard multiplier assumption, used with regard to the automotive industry, that each direct job will create, or secure, circa four jobs within the supply chain and the wider economy.

Transport: Eco-Towns

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the promoters of the Whitehill Bordon eco-town on  (a) transport costs in the initial years of the development,  (b) the (i) viability and (ii) cost of the proposed A325 fast bus link works and  (c) levels of car use in the area.

Paul Clark: To date, the Department for Transport has had no discussion with the promoters of the Whitehill Bordon eco-town on the specific issues to which the question refers. The transport strategy for Whitehill Bordon is still in its early stages of development. Department for Transport officials continue to be informed of its progress and, should the town be included in the list of preferred sites to be announced later this year, it is anticipated that further discussions will then take place.

Transport: Eco-Towns

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department and its agencies have had with the developers of the Ford Airfield eco-town development on  (a) a bypass on the A27,  (b) a link from the site to the A259 and  (c) the development's rail strategy.

Paul Clark: The Highways Agency is holding discussions with the promoters of Ford eco-town and other stakeholders to identify appropriate measures to address the current issues on the A27. This will primarily be based on the provision of sustainable travel initiatives with additional road capacity as a last resort.
	Previous proposals for a bypass for Arundel, as recommended in the South Coast Multi-modal Study (2004), were rejected by the then Secretary of State for Transport as being too environmentally damaging. The promoters of the eco-town have been asked to develop proposals on the basis that such a bypass would not be constructed.
	Any link from the site to the A259 would be a local road, and therefore an issue for the local highway authority, in this case West Sussex county council. The Highways Agency has therefore not been involved in any such discussion.
	There has been no direct engagement between Department for Transport officials and the promoters for Ford eco-town on rail issues.

Transport: Eco-Towns

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions  (a) his Department and  (b) Network Rail have had with the developers of the St. Austell eco-town development on a rail strategy for the site.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has had no discussions with the developers of the St. Austell eco-town development on a rail strategy for the site. Network Rail has received one presentation from the developers on the proposals for the site.

Transport: Eco-Towns

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions  (a) his Department and  (b) the Highways Agency have had with the developers of the St. Austell eco-town development on the proposed improvements to the A391; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport and Highways Agency have not had direct contact with the developers of the St. Austell eco-town as the main coordination of this large project is being led by Cornwall county council. The department and Highways Agency are in regular discussions with the council and are working collectively to improve the transport proposals associated with the eco-town development.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military engagements there have been between UK armed forces and Taliban insurgents in the last two months.

John Hutton: The Ministry of Defence is currently collating and validating the data needed to answer this question. I will write to the right hon. and learned Member with the information requested and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether UK armed forces are using unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan.

John Hutton: The armed forces use Reaper, Hermes 450 and the Desert Hawk 3 unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan.

Africa: Conflict Prevention

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has contributed to the Africa Programme of the Conflict Prevention Pool in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: From 2001 to 2007, HMG funded its conflict related programme activity through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) and Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACPP), owned and managed tri-departmentally by DFID, FCO and MOD. By bringing together the UK Government's development, diplomatic, and defence interests and expertise this ensured a coherent response to conflict prevention. In 2001, all three Departments contributed funds to form these pools (£2.1 million disbursed by the FCO; £14.4 million by DFID and £3.2 million by MOD), but in subsequent years funds have been allocated directly from HMT. The Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP) was set up in April 2008 as a successor to the former Global and Africa Conflict Prevention Pools, focusing activity through regional programmes where the UK can have its biggest impact, and through thematic programmes to deal with cross-cutting conflict prevention issues. The CPP commands a total of £112 million in 2008-09 of which the Africa Conflict Prevention Programme is forecast to spend £68 million. From FY 2001-02 to 2007-08, HMG has spent approximately £341 million through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool. This is broken down by year as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 19.7 
			 2002-03 45.3 
			 2003-04 47.2 
			 2004-05 63.7 
			 2005-06 48.2 
			 2006-07 57 
			 2007-08 60

Air Force: Military Bases

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1520W, on the Air Force: military bases, when he now expects an announcement to be made regarding Programme Belvedere;
	(2)  when he expects to receive a recommendation on the preferred option for Programme Belvedere.

Bob Ainsworth: As explained in my written answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, column 430W, the future of Programme Belvedere is currently under consideration at senior levels within the Department. Once that review has concluded I will write to the hon. Member.

Apprentices

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many apprenticeships places there have been in his Department in each of the last three years; in what areas of operations those places have been; and how many people his Department has provided work experience for in each such year.

Kevan Jones: The MOD is the largest public sector employer of apprentices in the UK. In the last three reporting year periods the following apprentice place completions have been achieved within the Department:
	
		
			  Apprentice place completions 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 8,147 
			 2006-07 7,446 
			 2007-08 8,758 
		
	
	The largest area of operations for completions is within the engineering sector, with other areas including: agriculture; business administration; construction; health and public services; hospitality; transportation; retailing and customer services.
	Work experience is not part of the departmental plan for apprenticeship delivery. Estimates of wider departmental work experience activities could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Families

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps the Government have taken to assist service widows and widowers.

Kevan Jones: holding  answer 16 March 2009
	The Government are committed to supporting bereaved families and we have been working in conjunction with both the Royal British Legion and the War Widows Association to identify areas in which we can enhance the support we provide.
	CRUSE Bereavement has recently received funding to enable them to train volunteers to address the specific needs of bereaved service families.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel were deployed in Northern Ireland on the latest date for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: Following the end of Operation BANNER in July 2007 the Joint Declaration provided authority for no more than 5,000 troops resident in Northern Ireland. There are normally around 4,500 troops resident in Northern Ireland.

Armed Forces: Pay

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average pay is for  (a) officers and  (b) other ranks at each level in the armed services.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is provided in the table.
	The figures include all regular officers and other ranks on the main pay scales. Regular officers and other ranks who are on separate bespoke pay spines, e.g. chaplains, medical and dental officers, professional aviators, officers promoted from the ranks, as well as reservists, are excluded. While Army ranks are shown, the figures also incorporate their equivalent ranks in the RN and RAF.
	The averages are based on pay rates for 2008-09 and numbers as at January 2009.
	Other ranks are allocated to either the higher or lower pay spines in accordance with their trade.
	
		
			  Rank  Average pay (£) 
			  Officers  
			 Chief of the Defence Staff 231,342.48 
			 General 164,280.65 
			 Lieutenant General 122,404.37 
			 Major General 101,444.98 
			 Brigadier 94,466.91 
			 Colonel 80,381.43 
			 Lieutenant Colonel 68,230.61 
			 Major 50,487.64 
			 Captain 39,433.73 
			 Lieutenant/2(nd) Lieutenant 26,987.44 
			   
			  Other ranks—higher pay spine  
			 Warrant Officer 1 42,882.83 
			 Warrant Officer 2 and Staff Sergeant 39,175.30 
			 Sergeant 33,609.32 
			 Corporal 29,836.48 
			 Lance Corporal and Private 25,335.81 
			   
			  Other ranks—lower pay spine  
			 Warrant Officer 1 40,576.11 
			 Warrant Officer 2 and Staff Sergeant 35,723.78 
			 Sergeant 31,086.91 
			 Corporal 27,421.40 
			 Lance Corporal and Private 18,652.27 
			   
			  Other ranks—personnel under training  
			 New Entrant 13,012.80

Armed Forces: Pay

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the minimum pay  (a) range and  (b) level is for armed forces personnel serving on the frontline in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: The minimum pay range for a trained service person serving in Iraq or Afghanistan is currently £16,227 to £27,599 depending on service, rank, length of service and trade. Details of this and other pay ranges for all service personnel up to the rank of Brigadier and equivalent are contained in the 37(th)- Report—2008 of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	In addition to basic pay, service personnel deployed on a six month operational tour in Iraq or Afghanistan will receive a tax free operational allowance of £2,380 plus a longer separation allowance worth a minimum of £1,161.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are stationed overseas, broken down by location.

Bob Ainsworth: Figures for the number of service personnel stationed overseas can be found in table 1.1 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 10: UK Regular Forces stationed location. TSP 10 is published quarterly. The most recent publication shows figures at 1 October 2008 and can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=100&pubType=1&date=2009-02-23&disText=01%20Oct%202008&from=historic&topDate=2009-09-23&PublishTime=09:30:00

Defence Equipment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department takes to prevent delays in the delivery of equipment affecting the safety of the armed forces in theatre.

John Hutton: The Government place the highest priority on the safety and security of our servicemen and women while on operations. If the arrival of a new piece of equipment to theatre is delayed, then commanders on the ground will either continue using existing equipment coupled with the appropriate tactics, techniques and procedures until the new capability is available; or, adapt operations to achieve the same aim while avoiding exposing troops to disproportionate risk.
	It should be noted that, even once new equipment has been delivered, technology alone cannot guarantee the safety of deployed troops. It is their adherence to the correct tactics, techniques and procedures that provide the greatest assurance of their safety and these are constantly revised in line with experience and any new developments in the enemy's tactics.

Departmental Bank Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which banks his Department has or has had contracts for the provision of financial advice, for the financial year 2008-09.

John Hutton: In the past, the MOD has contracted with banks for financial advice to support private finance and partnering projects and reviews of future models for defence business. But we hold no current contracts of this sort centrally. Information on any other contracts that may have been awarded to banks for financial advice is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Consultation

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many public consultations his Department has conducted in the last 12 months; how long each consultation was open for; how many responses were received in each case; and what the cost of conducting each consultation was.

Kevan Jones: There have been four Ministry of Defence public consultations (as listed on the MOD internet site) over the last 12 months. These consultations consist of:
	Submarine Enterprise Collaborative Agreement (SECA), 12 February to 6 May, there were 47 responses;
	UK Defence Spectrum Management 2008, 30 May to 5 September, there were 32 responses;
	The Revised Welsh Language Scheme, 16 July to 10 October, there were 25 responses;
	Transfer of Historic Service Personnel Records to the National Archives, July to September, there were 428 responses.
	Information about the cost of conducting these consultations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 30W, on departmental recruitment, what estimate he has made of the annual salary cost of new  (a) permanent,  (b) temporary and  (c) agency staff recruited by his Department in each year since 2005-06.

Kevan Jones: The annual salary costs for permanent and temporary staff employed by the Department in each year since 2005-06 are published in departmental annual reports and accounts. We are unable to identify the costs of newly recruited staff separately. Salary costs of agency staff are met by their employing agencies and not by the Department.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the renewal of the contracts of  (a) temporary and  (b) agency staff.

Kevan Jones: The recruitment of temporary staff is governed by the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code. Agency workers are used as an interim measure for periods of up to 11 months to fill complemented and funded posts that cannot be filled by temporary promotion or internal posting or other recruitment action. In exceptional cases temporary staff may be extended up to a maximum of 24 months.

Departmental Training

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1994W, on departmental training, which Ministers attended the pre-deployment training in preparation for visits to Iraq and Afghanistan; and how much that training cost.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Under-Secretary of State gave on 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 235W, to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main).

Departmental Translation Services

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many language translators are employed in each of his Department's executive agencies; and what the cost of translating services provided by such people was in the latest period for which information is available.

Bob Ainsworth: None of the Department's Agencies employs language translators and therefore incurred no costs on employing such people. Information on non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) is not held by the Ministry of Defence but by the NDPBs themselves.

EU Battlegroups

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the Government's participation in the permanent structural co-operation framework foreseen in the Lisbon Treaty.

John Hutton: No such estimate has been made. There have been no decisions on the scope of permanent structured co-operation, nor on possible UK participation, in the event that the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all 27 EU member states.

Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has given to the Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society Combat Stress in each year since 2005.

Kevan Jones: Funds are provided through the War Pensions Scheme's discretionary power to meet the cost of any necessary expenses in respect of medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of ex-members of the armed forces that arise from a disablement due to service before 6 April 2005 where it is not provided for under other UK legislation. This includes the individual costs of war pensioners undergoing "remedial treatment" at homes run by Combat Stress for conditions related to their individual pensioned disablement and of related expenses such as travel costs. The table shows the funding received by Combat Stress under this provision. The funding figure for 2008-09 is not yet available.
	
		
			  Income received by Combat Stress to defray individual treatment expenses 
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 2.3 
			 2006-07 2.5 
			 2007-08 3.2 
		
	
	Combat Stress receives separate funding from the Scottish Executive for war pensioners' resident in Scotland who receive treatment at Hollybush House.

HMS Victorious

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Victorious is scheduled to visit the United States for missile tests and missile loading.

John Hutton: It is our policy not to discuss individual submarine operations.

Joint Working Groups

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the date was of each meeting of each sub-group of each Joint Working Group since 2001; and what the purpose was of each meeting.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1149W. In the interests of national security I am withholding further information on the nature or extent of work undertaken by these Joint Working Groups.

Loss of Service Will

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reports his Department has received of the loss of a service will in each year since 2004.

Kevan Jones: The information requested is not recorded by the Ministry of Defence.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours were undertaken by each helicopter type in the forward fleet in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 173W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).
	Figures for the period to April 2009 are not yet available.

Nuclear Weapons

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which years since 1990 experiments have been carried out with the United States on US warhead designs and nuclear weapons technology.

John Hutton: Research, including trials, and experiments, is conducted on a regular basis, by the Atomic Weapons Establishment as part of its responsibility for maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of the UK nuclear stockpile in the absence of live testing. Some of this research, is undertaken in collaboration with the United States under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement.
	Following publication of the 2006 White Paper, "The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cmd 6994) and the subsequent exchange of letters between Prime Minister Blair and President George W. Bush in December 2006, additional research is currently being undertaken, some in collaboration with the US, on how we may need to refurbish or replace our current warheads to help inform decisions, likely to be made in the next parliament.
	I am withholding the detail of this collaboration in the interests of national security.

Special Forces

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of British special forces were deployed outside the UK on the latest date for which figures are available.

John Hutton: It is the long-standing policy of this Government not to comment on matters relating to operations involving British special forces.

Sudan: Military Aid

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the provision of defence training in Sudan in each year since 2003; what training activities were provided; and which  (a) provider and  (b) recipient organisation participated in each activity.

Bob Ainsworth: All training delivered by the MOD in Sudan is to members of the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs), which are made up of equally sized elements of the armies of North and South Sudan. JIUs were established as a peace-building measure under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the war between North and South. The CPA mandates members of the international community who supported the peace process, including the UK, to provide training and other support to the JIUs.
	The MOD does not, however, directly fund any training in Sudan; instead the UK training programme is financed by the tri-departmental Conflict Prevention Pool. It has included the training of the JIUs' first de-mining Company, delivered by the International Mine Action Training Centre in Kenya, a wide range of individual courses conducted at military establishments in the UK as well as conflict resolution workshops and English language training conducted in Sudan. Specific information for 2003-04 and 2004-05 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, but is assessed to have been very low as we then had no Defence Section in Sudan. Since then the following training activities have been provided:
	 Financial year 2006-07—£265,000
	International Peace Support Briefing Programme (2 students)
	International Collective Training Briefing Programme (2)
	International Border Security Management Briefing (2)
	Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—Nairobi (6)
	Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—UK (3)
	De-mining training, Nairobi—1 Company (120) of JIUs. British Peace Support Team—East Africa International Mine Action Training Centre
	 Financial year 2007-08—£248,000
	Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—Nairobi (4)
	Managing Defence in a Democracy (now Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context)—UK (2)
	Commissioning Course (2)
	International Peace Support Briefing Programme (2)
	International Collective Training Briefing (2)
	International Battle Group Commanders Course (6)
	English language training—Sudan (160)
	De-mining Training, Nairobi—1 company (120). British Peace Support Team—East Africa International Mine Action Training Centre
	 Financial y ear 2008-09—£282,000
	Advanced Command and Staff Course (2)
	International Peace Support Operations (7)
	English language training—Sudan (up to 144)
	Train the Trainer (4)
	International Logistic Officers Course (1)
	In financial year 2008-09 the UK also provided £750,000 through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool to the UN to provide infrastructural support for the JIUs.

Trident

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of spending on the replacement for Trident which will go to US companies.

John Hutton: The work necessary to ensure the maintenance of the UK's nuclear deterrent is still in the concept phase. The investment decision point, Initial Gate, for the new submarine class to replace Vanguard class is not expected until this autumn. As such, it is too soon for such an estimate to be made.

Warships: Persian Gulf

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships were deployed in the Persian Gulf on the latest date for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy has the following ships deployed to the Persian Gulf as at 18 March:
	A permanent Frigate, currently HMS Richmond, is deployed to the North Arabian Gulf patrolling the oil platforms in the Iraqi territorial waters.
	A Landing Ship Docking Amphibious, currently RFA Cardigan Bay, also operates around the Iraqi oil platforms providing a training platform for the Iraqi Navy and Marines.
	There are four Mine Countermeasures Vessels permanently based at Bahrain, their crews rotating on a four to six monthly basis. The ships: HMS Atherstone, HMS Chiddingfold, HMS Grimsby and HMS Pembrooke.
	A Forward Repair Ship, RFA Dilligence also operates in the Gulf and further out into the North Arabian sea providing engineering support, predominately to the Mine Counter Measures Vessels.
	In addition two units, the Frigate HMS Portland and the Tanker RFA Wave Knight, permanently operate predominately in the North Arabian sea, Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden, but make routine visits within the Persian Gulf for maintenance, consolidation and crew rest and recuperation.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the area in hectares and proportion of cultivatable land in Helmand province which is under cultivation for poppies; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2008 estimates that 33 per cent. (103,590 hectares) of the land in Helmand with the potential for agriculture was devoted to poppy cultivation in 2008. In their winter survey, UNODC has indicated that there may be a slight decrease in the cultivation of poppy in Helmand in 2009. Final figures for 2009 will be published in the summer when UNODC releases the executive summary of its Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2009.
	The UK welcomes the early signs that cultivation of poppy in Helmand may be reducing. We continue to support the government of Afghanistan's national drug control strategy which aims to reduce poppy cultivation sustainably in Afghanistan.

AIDS

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has allocated for the next financial year to fund its commitments under the Government's AIDS strategy in 2009-10.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to using its overseas network of posts to support 'Achieving Universal Access'. Posts in are being encouraged to use their existing budgets to support effective national AIDS responses to halt and reverse the spread of HIV, in particular among vulnerable groups. It is therefore not possible to state how much the FCO will allocate to funding for the Government's AIDS strategy in 2009-10.

Bali: Terrorism

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Indonesian government on concluding the judicial process of those who masterminded the terrorist attack in Bali 2002.

Bill Rammell: There are currently no judicial processes in Indonesia relating to the Bali 2002 terrorist attacks.
	We would welcome any further legal processes aimed at bringing to justice those suspected of involvement in the Bali attacks. It is the policy of the Government, that terrorists should always be brought to justice. However, the UK does not support the use of the death penalty. We advocate an end to the death penalty world-wide, regardless of the individual or the crime.

Belarus: Human Rights

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Belarus.

Caroline Flint: The full extent of our human rights concerns in Belarus is detailed in the 2008 Human Rights Report, which will be published on 26 March 2009. We remain concerned about the overall human rights situation in Belarus, but small improvements have been made in the areas of media freedom, freedom of assembly, electoral reform and political imprisonment during the six months from October 2008 to April 2008 that the EU suspended travel restrictions to encourage reform.
	To reflect the mixed progress made by Belarus during this time, the EU has taken the decision to extend the suspension period for a further nine months, and renew the common position (the legal basis for the travel restrictions and an asset freeze) for 12 months. We will take this opportunity to continue to encourage Belarus to make further progress on human rights in order to align itself with EU standards.

Burma: Political Prisoners

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the number of political prisoners in Burma.

Bill Rammell: The UN Special Rapporteur on Human rights in Myanmar, Mr. Tomas Quintana, in a statement to the Human Rights Council on 18 March 2009, indicated that there remain over 2,100 prisoners of conscience in Burma. This figure is in line with our own estimates.

Burma: Political Prisoners

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burmese Government on the sentencing of Eint Khaing Oo for reporting on Cyclone Nargis.

Bill Rammell: We condemn the lack of media freedom in Burma and the arrest and detention of journalists, including Eint Khaing Oo.
	Our ambassador in Rangoon frequently raises the need for the release of all political prisoners in Burma with ministers in the military government. We also take every opportunity to underline our concern in our public statements and through the EU, UN Security Council and UN human rights bodies. We support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human rights in Myanmar, Mr. Tomas Quintana, who, in a statement to the Human Rights Council on 18 March 2009, again called on the Burmese authorities to release all prisoners of conscience.

Burma: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Burmese authorities on the political situation in Burma.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 19 March 2009
	We continue to do all we can to generate international pressure for a peaceful transition to democracy and respect for human rights in Burma. The Common Position adopted by the EU restricts ministerial contact with the military regime.
	In his contacts with the Burmese authorities, our ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises the urgent need for all political prisoners to be released and for all opposition and ethnic groups to be allowed to play their full part in shaping the country's future.
	Elections planned for 2010 will have no credibility unless these fundamental issues are addressed.

Burma: Religious Freedom

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he  (a) has had and  (b) plans to have with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief on reported violations of religious freedom in Burma, with particular reference to reported discrimination and persecution of Christians and Muslims.

Bill Rammell: We are concerned by reports that the Burmese authorities have closed places of worship for religious minorities and childcare centres run by Christian groups in Rangoon. We condemn the marginalisation or persecution of any community based on their religious beliefs or ethnic background. Although it makes the reported abuses no less serious, we believe that the persecution of religious minority groups by the Burmese authorities is often based on their ethnicity and perceived threat to security rather than their faith. We view the regime's actions as part of a wider deterioration in the human rights situation in Burma.
	The issue of religious freedom is within the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, which covers human rights and fundamental freedoms.
	We hold regular discussions with Mr. Quintana and his team concerning the human rights abuses we believe to be taking place in Burma, and fully support his efforts. Our ambassador in Burma regularly raises the issue of human rights in his meetings with Burmese government officials.

Burma: United Nations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has had contact with the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Myanmar since 1 January 2009.

Bill Rammell: Our mission to the UN in New York is in regular contact with the UN Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari and his office. This dialogue was particularly frequent before and after Professor Gambari's visit to Burma from 31 January 2009 to 3 February 2009 and after his briefing to the UN Security Council on 20 February 2009.
	We continue to give our full support to the UN Secretary General's Good Offices mission.

Cambodia: Human Rights

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Cambodia on Lor Seiha and others imprisoned on charges arising from their resistence to forced evictions; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The UK, in our capacity as the local EU presidency, arranged for EU Heads of Mission to meet with non-governmental organisation (NGOs) representatives and Dey Krahom leaders on 29 January 2009 to hear their concerns on forced evictions.
	We have raised our concerns over land rights and forced evictions with the Cambodian authorities on a number of occasions, most recently with the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation in a Note Verbale sent on 2 March 2009.
	Representatives from EU member states, the local Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and a local NGOs visited a site in Phnom Penh and also visited the Dey Krahom relocation site on 20 February 2009 to meet members of the local communities. They were accompanied by a representative of the Phnom Penh municipal authorities.
	EU member states will maintain dialogue on these issues with the Phnom Penh authorities and have made clear to the royal government of Cambodia their support for the OHCHR's proposal for development of guidelines to regulate evictions and relocations and a moratorium on evictions.

China: Family Planning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of China regarding alleged abuse of those who protest against the one child policy in China since July 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are aware of reports of mal-administration of China's one child policy, but have not received reports of protests against it since July 2008.
	We remain concerned, however, about the continued imprisonment of human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng, who highlighted reports of enforced sterilisation and abortion in Linyi City, Shandong Province in late 2005. Chen Guangcheng's case was raised most recently at the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in November 2008. We continue to monitor Mr. Chen's situation and that of his family.

Departmental Accountancy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to paragraph 88 of the Foreign Affairs Committee's Second Report of Session 2008-09, HC 195, on his Department's Annual Report for 2007-08, when he expects to publish details of the cost savings accruing from his Department's co-location programmes; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Various partners across Government co-locate with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). These partners base their operations within FCO missions overseas and use the support of FCO staff in management and administrative positions.
	By not having to set up their own offices these Departments make efficiency savings as well as avoiding additional costs for the Department and tax payer. However we have not been informed of the cost savings made by other Departments in this manner, and cannot therefore publish details of them.

Departmental Catering

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which  (a) food and  (b) drinks suppliers have been used by his Department in each of the last three years; and how much his Department paid to each such supplier in each of those years.

Gillian Merron: The two contracted suppliers of food and drink used by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Directors Table  Mountain Spring 
			 2005-06 305,520.99 1740.15 
			 2006-07 451,191.79 16,204.39 
			 2007-08 353,761.09 21,659.26 
		
	
	From 1 December 2008 the contract with Mountain Spring has been terminated.
	There is a large difference between spend on Mountain Spring during the 2005-06 period and the subsequent years as there were various suppliers used in 2005-06.
	Identifying these suppliers and the amounts spent would incur disproportionate cost.
	The figures do not include spend by Government Hospitality, individual departmental spend or spend locally by post overseas, as this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Internet

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 369-73W, on the departmental internet, how many hits each of the websites maintained by his Department received in each of the last 12 months.

Caroline Flint: I will write to the hon. Member separately, as the answer is lengthy.

Departmental Public Expenditure

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1523-6W, on departmental public expenditure, in what areas of expenditure the administration budget overspends in relation to  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Australia,  (c) Brazil,  (d) Spain and  (e) the United States were incurred in 2007-08.

David Miliband: The main areas of overspend in administration budgets were:
	 (a) Afghanistan
	Subsistence and allowances
	Other purchased goods and services
	Telecommunications costs
	Freight and courier costs
	Other costs, including embassy catering services
	Other external/contract services
	 (b) Australia
	Subsistence and allowances
	Training costs
	IT costs
	Agency and casual staff
	Other external/contract services
	Maintenance and running costs
	Locally engaged staff salaries
	 (c) Brazil
	Freight and courier costs
	Vehicle costs
	Other purchased goods and services
	Medical costs
	Subsistence and allowances
	Locally engaged staff salaries
	Agency and casual staff
	Maintenance and running costs
	 (d) Spain
	Other purchased goods and services
	Other costs
	Training costs
	Locally engaged staff salaries
	Subsistence and allowances
	Telecommunications costs
	Other external/contract services
	Agency and casual staff
	 (e) US
	Consultancy and professional fees
	Freight and courier costs
	Hire of plant and machinery
	IT Costs
	Financial charges
	Stationery
	Agency and casual Staff
	Subsistence and allowances
	Maintenance and running costs
	Telecommunications costs
	Other purchased goods and services.

Departmental Public Expenditure

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1240W, on departmental public expenditure, what the cost to his Department of each UK contribution to peacekeeping operations overseas  (a) was in 2007-08 and  (b) has been in 2008-09.

David Miliband: Peacekeeping costs—both assessed costs to international missions and UK discretionary support to international and bilateral missions—have been met through the Peacekeeping Budget which is an annual claim on the Treasury Reserve and has been managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on behalf of the FCO, Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). In 2007-08 and 2008-09, £374 million was allocated from the Treasury Reserve for Peacekeeping.
	Pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1240W, as a claim on the Treasury Reserve, the Peacekeeping Budget did not benefit from the Overseas Prices Mechanism. However, from the Peacekeeping Budget, assessed contributions to peacekeeping missions paid in foreign currencies by the FCO in 2007-08 were:
	
		
			   £ 
			 UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) 366,011 
			 UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) 5,771,218 
			 UN_Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) 15,184,311 
			 UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) 39,728,447 
			 UN_Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) 3,135,316 
			 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) 25,403,196 
			 UN African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) 37,228,728 
			 UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) 28,920,533 
			 UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) 960,793 
			 UN Integrated Mission in East Timor(UNMIT) 4,727,871 
			 UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) 1,140,559 
			 UN Disengagement Observer Force Zone (UNDOF) 1,393,431 
			 UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) 19,062,884 
			 UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) 7,816,007 
			 UN Interim Force in Lebanon(UNIFIL) 25,003,407 
			 UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) 1,557,670 
			 UN International Criminal Court 6,429,102 
			 UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 4,813,809 
			 UN International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia 6,252,619 
			 Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe field missions 8,377,220 
			 Total 243,273,132 
		
	
	At current exchange rates, estimated assessed contributions to peacekeeping missions paid in foreign currencies in 2008-09 are:
	
		
			   £ 
			 UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) 18,297,738 
			 UN_Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) 19,968,022 
			 UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) 49,272,772 
			 UN_Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) 1,334,652 
			 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) 25,323,581 
			 UN African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) 64,197,346 
			 UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) 30,070,770 
			 UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus 1,392,357 
			 UN Integrated Mission in East Timor(UNMIT) 6,008,093 
			 UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) 1,462,365 
			 UN Disengagement Observer Force Zone (UNDOF) 1,834,559 
			 UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) 24,201,172 
			 UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) 7,480,504 
			 UN Interim Force in Lebanon(UNIFIL) 28,307,578 
			 UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) 1,764,832 
			 UN International Criminal Court 5,463,876 
			 UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 5,403,725 
			 UN International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia 7,145,468 
			 UN/AU UN Logistical Support to African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) 1,960,880 
			 Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe field missions 9,633,681 
			 Total 310,523,971 
		
	
	The 2008-09 costs will be reduced by a transfer of £29.4 million from the FCO which includes gains from the benefits of the advanced purchase of foreign currency costs, based on estimated costs at the time of spring supplementary. Further assessed costs are attributed to the Peacekeeping Budget by the Treasury or paid in the relevant foreign currency by the MOD.

Elections: Monitoring

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in the Treasury and the Department for International Development on alternative sources of funding for election observation in 2009-10.

Bill Rammell: The Government's ongoing discussions on conflict-related budgets for 2009-10, which include funding for election observation missions, have been between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence. The Treasury has been consulted fully throughout. Final decisions have not yet been made in this process.
	Election observation remains a priority for the FCO. We are reviewing internally spend for the next financial year.

Exchange Rates

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps will be taken to manage his Department's exposure to foreign currency movements when his Department's contract with the Bank of England to buy 80 per cent. of net US dollar and euro exposure ends.

David Miliband: To date the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has secured several contracts with the Bank of England which provide the full cover allowed for our forecast US dollar and euro net exposure up to February 2010, and partial cover over the intervening months to January 2011. HM Treasury have limited the amount of cover we can purchase to a maximum of 80 per cent. of our net foreign exchange exposure at overseas posts, but up to 100 per cent. for known commitments to international organisations.
	Each month a further contract is secured with the Bank of England, to extend full cover and partial cover an additional month. Thus the March 2010 contract will secure full cover for March 2010 and partial cover over the intervening months to February 2011.
	Contracts have also been secured for Japanese yen that currently extend to March 2010. Additional contracts will be purchased in due course.

Hezbollah

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Minister of State's evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 4 March 2009, with which members of Hezbollah's political wing the Government has made contact.

Bill Rammell: On 9 January 2009 our ambassador in Beirut accompanied a group of British parliamentarians to a meeting with the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Committee that included the Hezbollah MP, Ali Amaar.

Hezbollah

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the Government ceased contact with both the political and military wings of Hezbollah in 2005.

Bill Rammell: The UK had contacts with some political officials in Hezbollah from 2001 to 2005 but no contacts with Hezbollah's military wing. Although previous discussions had been frank, they became increasingly insubstantial. The political contacts ended in 2005 as we judged that the conditions at the time, specifically the political stalemate of the Lebanese Government, meant that the talks were not productive enough to be worth continuing.

Hezbollah

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of co-operation between the political and military wings of Hezbollah in seeking to commit or support acts of terrorism.

Bill Rammell: In July 2008 the decision was made by the Home Office to proscribe the military wing, which we specified as the Jihad Council and all units reporting to it. During this process a thorough assessment of all the components of Hezbollah was carried out to establish this distinction.

Hezbollah

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reported statements by Hezbollah's leadership that there is no distinction between the organisation's political and military wings.

Bill Rammell: In July 2008 the decision was made by the Home Office to proscribe the military wing, which we specified as the Jihad Council and all units reporting to it. During this process a thorough assessment of all the components of Hezbollah was carried out to establish this distinction between those members of Hezbollah who are legitimately involved in Lebanese politics and those who are involved in violence and support terrorism. We will not have contacts with individuals whom we assess to be involved in violence.

India: Terrorism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens were injured during the events in Mumbai on 27 November 2008; what the  (a) nature and  (b) severity of such injuries was; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 20 March 2009
	Seven British nationals were seriously injured during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. For consular confidentiality and data protection reasons, the nature and severity of those injuries cannot be disclosed.

Iran

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of diplomatic relations with Iran.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has said many times that the UK would like to have a positive and constructive relationship with Iran—a relationship which is based on mutual respect and is not a prisoner of history. We believe that we have important shared interests in Iran's neighbourhood, including stability, security and economic development in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, we and the rest of the international community have significant and legitimate concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions, its activity in the region, and its repression of its own people. Iran must address these if our relationship is to move forward. The Iranian authorities are also responsible for unacceptable harassment of our staff in Tehran, both UK based and Iranian—pressure which has forced the British Council to suspend its operation in Iran, and which obstructs the legitimate activities of our embassy. We have raised this with the Iranian authorities on numerous occasions, and we regret that they have done nothing to address this.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1747W, on Iran: nuclear power, what further sanctions he has considered pursuing at the United Nations.

Bill Rammell: The E3+3 made a generous offer to Iran in June 2008. This offer remains on the table. The offer presents Iran with an opportunity to transform its relationship with the international community and enjoy many significant benefits, if it suspends its enrichment programme and negotiates.
	However, in the event of Iran failing to take up this opportunity and continuing to disregard its international obligations to the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency, we will be forced to consider further measures, including the consideration of further significant sanctions through the UN.

Iraq: Capital Punishment

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Iraqi government on the reinstatement of the death penalty in Iraq in 2004.

Bill Rammell: The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We continue to make our position on capital punishment clear to the Iraqi government at every opportunity both bilaterally and with the support of our EU partners. As recently as 8 March 2009 the UK joined other EU member states in supporting a démarche, delivered by the current Czech EU presidency to Iraqi vice-President Tareeq al-Hashemi and to the head of the Iraqi prime minister's office on the proposed resumption of executions in Iraq. We strongly supported the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2007 (A/Res/62/149) and November 2008 (A/Res/63/168) which called upon all states that maintain the death penalty to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolition. The resolutions expressed the conviction of the majority of UN members that the use of the death penalty undermines human dignity; recalled that there is no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value; and noted that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the implementation of the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable.

Iraq: Capital Punishment

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received of the Iraqi judicial authorities confirming death sentences against 128 Iraqi prisoners; and what steps his Department is taking on the matter.

Bill Rammell: Following reports of an imminent move to carry out the death sentences of 117 individuals on death row at Kadhamiyah-Max Prison in Iraq, the UK joined other EU member states in supporting a démarche against the sentences delivered on 8 March 2009 by the Czech EU presidency to Iraqi vice-president Tareeq al-Hashemi and to the head of the Iraqi Prime Minister's office. Vice-president al-Hashemi said he had no information about the enforcement of these sentences which had been passed by the courts in full compliance with Iraqi law and the Iraqi Constitution. We will continue to pursue the Iraqi government on this matter, including making clear our position on the death penalty.

Iraq: Capital Punishment

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Iraqi authorities to make public the information they hold pertaining to the 128 people who have recently had their death sentences confirmed by the Iraqi judicial authorities.

Bill Rammell: The UK joined other EU member states in supporting a demarche against the death sentences against 117 people which was delivered on 8 March 2009 by the Czech EU presidency to Iraqi Vice President Tareeq al-Hashemi and to the Head of the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office. We are asking the Iraqi Government for further information about these sentences and regularly make clear our opposition to the death penalty.

Iraq: Females

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Iraq on women's rights in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Our officials in Baghdad regularly meet with staff from the office of the Minister for Women's Affairs and Ministry of Human Rights. We are closely monitoring the work of the acting Minister for Women's Affairs. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Human Rights in Iraq also raised the situation of women with senior members of the government of Iraq during a visit on 1 March 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1429W, on Middle East: armed conflict, by what methods the risks that arms could be used for internal repression or external aggression are surveyed; and what steps his Department took to gather evidence on the use of arms exports in relation to Gaza.

Bill Rammell: All arms export license applications are considered on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. This includes criteria covering internal repression and external aggression. We assess each application in the light of information received from several sources, including our embassies, non-governmental organisations and international agencies and in accordance with the EU Arms Export Users Guide, which was published in the UK's 2007 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusions of the London Conference on the prevention of arms smuggling to Gaza.

Bill Rammell: Tackling the smuggling of arms, ammunition and weapons components to armed groups in Gaza—along with opening the crossings to legitimate goods—is an important part of improving the situation there in a sustainable way.
	The London conference on 13 March 2009 built on the progress made in Copenhagen on 3-5 February 2009 and agreed a Programme of Action between the nine participating countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the US). A copy of this programme is available on the FCO website:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the discussions between the Turkish Prime Minister and the Israeli Prime Minister on peace in the Middle East which took place between 1 November and 27 December 2008.

Bill Rammell: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Turkey on 22 December 2008. The details of that meeting, and any other private conversations which may have taken place, are a matter for the governments concerned.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress that has been made by Tony Blair as the Quartet representative; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: While we have not made a formal assessment, we judge that the Quartet representative and his office have made a valuable contribution to improving the situation on the ground.

Morocco: Fisheries

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 124W, on Morocco: fisheries, what representations the Government has made to the Moroccan government to ensure that the indigenous people of Western Sahara receive licensing revenues or aid derived from the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement as a result of the fishing activity of UK trawlers in the waters of the occupied Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 17 March 2009
	The Government maintain the position that the Government of Morocco—as the de facto administering power of Western Sahara—are obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under administration, including the extraction and exportation of phosphates, do not adversely affect the interests of the people of Western Sahara.
	Our officials in Rabat discuss a range of issues relating to the Western Sahara with their Moroccan counterparts, including when appropriate the issue of fishing revenues.
	There are currently only two UK vessels operating in the waters off Western Sahara under the EU—Morocco Fisheries Agreement. All the fish caught are landed in Dakhla, Western Sahara and sold through the local markets or processed in a local factory.

Morocco: Mining

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 228W, on Morocco: mining, what steps the Government are taking to seek to ensure that Morocco fulfils its obligations under international law to ensure that the extraction and exportation of phosphates do not adversely affect the interests of people in Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 20 March 2009
	The UK maintains its position that Morocco, as the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under administration—including the extraction and exportation of phosphates—do not adversely affect the interests of the people in Western Sahara. The UK has not recently raised this issue with the Moroccan authorities.
	However, the Government firmly support the principles of transparency and good governance with regards to the extractive industries generally. In November 2008, the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) held a roundtable meeting in Tunis, which included Morocco. Participants discussed the opportunities and challenges which implementing the EITI can bring for the north African region and for further enhancing resource management and economic growth.

Nepal: Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Nepal.

Bill Rammell: While there have been improvements in the human rights situation in Nepal since the end of the conflict in 2006, significant challenges remain to the promotion and protection of human rights caused by the absence of rule of law. Despite the government of Nepal making repeated commitments to promoting respect for human rights, they have made limited progress. It has taken steps towards the proportional inclusion of minorities in all organs and at all levels of the state. It has also increased the budget for the national human rights commission, and has discussed the introduction of a bill to establish a truth and reconciliation commission.
	The continuing impunity for past and current human rights abuses remains a key concern. It has encouraged a lack of respect for the law which encourages people to turn to violence to resolving disputes. Poor public security, particularly in the Terai (plains), where there is a proliferation of armed groups, is a major obstacle to improving human rights in Nepal. We are also concerned at the increase in intimidation and violence against journalists which is leading to self-censorship by journalists. Political interference in police investigations is commonplace and we continue to receive reports of torture in police custody.
	Our embassy in Kathmandu closely monitors the human rights situation. During the past year we have raised our concerns, including at ministerial level, about attacks on the media, freedom of expression and movement, excessive use of force by the security forces, and the need to discharge minors from the Maoist People's Liberation Army. We will continue to engage with the government of Nepal both bilaterally and in conjunction with the EU, other international partners, and the Office of the High Commissioner on human rights to urge it to meet the commitments they have made to uphold and promote human rights. Our Embassy is also supporting the efforts of civil society to combat impunity, through advocacy, training and work on legislative reform.

North Korea: Capital Punishment

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of people who received the death penalty in North Korea in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: We are concerned about the use of the death penalty in North Korea, including the reports of public executions. There are, however, no reliable figures available for the numbers of executions in North Korea. Different non-governmental organisations produce various figures based on the observations of defectors, but these are difficult to verify and often out of date.

North Korea: Political Prisoners

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of political prisoners in North Korea.

Bill Rammell: While there is no doubt that North Korea imprisons large numbers of people for their political and religious beliefs, there are no reliable figures available for the number of political prisoners in North Korea. Different non-governmental organisations produce various figures based on the observations of defectors, but these are difficult to verify, and often out of date. That is why we have consistently pressed North Korea to allow the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea access to their country.

Palestinians: Fisheries

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on access by Gazan fishermen to  (a) Gazan and  (b) international waters.

Bill Rammell: Gazan fishermen are prevented by the Israeli navy from entering international waters. The Israeli navy also severely limits their access to Gaza's own territorial waters. We believe that the current limit is enforced at around three miles from the shore.
	Many Gazan fishing boats were also destroyed or damaged during Operation Cast Lead. The Israeli authorities say that they are enforcing these limits to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.

Palestinians: Postal Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what restrictions there are on  (a) mail and  (b) gifts being sent from the UK to people in (i) the West Bank and (ii) Gaza.

Bill Rammell: There are no restrictions specific to mail or gifts originating in the UK. Incoming mail destined for the Occupied Palestinian Territories must be routed via Israel. It will be subject to security checks. Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff, living in Gaza and the West Bank report that it will take small envelopes several weeks to arrive from an international address. Some of this period of time may also be accounted for by the inefficiency of the Palestinian Authority's own mail service.
	For parcels sent to the West Bank, the security checking process can last up to two months and many West Bankers now arrange for larger mail items to be sent to addresses in east Jerusalem and then delivered on by friends or relatives. Parcels destined for Gaza can be held up for several months and few individuals or organisations inside Gaza would now use this as a means to send items into the Gaza strip.

Philippines: Politics and Government

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will have discussions with the Government of the Philippines on the implications for the political situation in that country of the kidnapping of the members of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Bill Rammell: We are aware that on 15 January 2009 three members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including two foreign nationals, were kidnapped on the island of Sulu in the southern Philippines. The terrorist group Abu Sayyaf claims to be holding them captive. Our embassy in Manila has been following the case closely. We welcome reports by the ICRC that one of the hostages has been released and we hope the two remaining members will be freed unharmed.
	We are concerned about on-going terrorist and insurgent activity in the southern Philippines. Our ambassador in Manila regularly discusses the conflict in the southern Philippines, including wider political implications, with the Philippines Government. The UK has been sharing its experience from the Northern Ireland Peace Process with the Philippines Government to help the Government in its efforts towards achieving peace in Mindanao.

Ron Arad

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions HM Ambassador in Tehran has had with the Iranian Government on the missing Israeli pilot, Ron Arad.

Bill Rammell: Our ambassador in Tehran has not had any discussions with the Iranian Government regarding the missing Israeli pilot, Ron Arad. However, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Mr. Arad's disappearance in January 2000 with the Iranian Foreign Minister. The Iranian Minister assured him that although he had no information concerning Mr. Arad, he would pass on any information he might obtain. Officials in our embassies in Beirut and Damascus have also sought information on Mr. Arad's case; most recently with the Lebanese Government in February 2004.

Seoul

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits were made by Ministers to Seoul in the financial year 2007-08.

Bill Rammell: There were two visits to Seoul by Government Ministers in financial year 2007-08. These visits were by the then Minister of State for Higher Education, Further Education, and Lifelong Learning, at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Bill Rammell), in May 2007, and the then Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Mr. Hutton) in November 2007.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Bill Rammell: The UK has recently made clear our concerns about the deteriorating human right situation in Sri Lanka during the ongoing UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva. The continuing reports of abductions, disappearances, violence and intimidation against the media are of particular concern. Violations must be investigated thoroughly and independently and those responsible must be brought to justice.
	On 23 February 2009, the EU released a statement calling on the Sri Lankan authorities to take decisive action to tackle human rights abuses, to guarantee press freedom and to disarm paramilitary groups in government controlled areas. We continue to raise human rights concerns with the Sri Lankan authorities whenever possible.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Sri Lanka on the political situation in that country.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 19 March 2009
	I refer my hon. Friend to my response of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1750W.
	We are in regular contact with the Government of Sri Lanka. Most recently my noble friend Lord Malloch-Brown, the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, spoke to the Sri Lankan Minister for Foreign Affairs on 16 March 2009 about the political and humanitarian situation. We remain of the view that a political solution that addresses the legitimate concerns of all communities in Sri Lanka is the only way to bring a sustainable end to the conflict.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) Ministerial colleagues and  (b) overseas counterparts on the viability of implementing a no-fly zone for Darfur.

Gillian Merron: We currently assess that a no-fly zone would restrict essential humanitarian operations and be a major logistical challenge due to the size of Darfur and the lack of available air assets. The African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is mandated to monitor military activity, including flights prohibited by UN Security Council Resolution 1591. To this end, we continue to press all parties for rapid, full deployment of UNAMID, and work with the UN and any potential donors to ensure UNAMID receives the equipment it so urgently requires.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Darfur.

Gillian Merron: We remain committed to both the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and Darfur Peace Process. We welcomed the initial agreement between the Government of Sudan and the justice and equality movement signed in Doha on 17 February 2009, and encouraged UN/African Union mediator Bassole and Qatar to continue efforts. We urge implementation of the initial agreement, talks on a cessation of hostilities and a lasting settlement, and the engagement also of other Darfur leaders.
	Full implementation of CPA is essential for lasting peace throughout Sudan and we will continue to work with the governments in Khartoum and Juba for that.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement on 4 March 2009 in which he strongly urged all parties in Sudan to avoid escalation, maintain order and protect embassies, international personnel and humanitarian workers, and above all the Sudanese civilians who have already suffered so much.
	The statement is available for viewing at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=Press S&id=14479209

Sudan: Politics and Government

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Sudan to encourage it to reverse its decision to eject non-governmental organisations.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 13 March 2009
	Our Ambassador has urged the Government of Sudan to allow non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to continue their work. The EU issued a statement on 10 March 2009 calling upon the Government of Sudan to urgently reconsider their decision, and ensure that humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in Sudan be continuously guaranteed. European foreign Ministers discussed the situation again on 16 March 2009 and reiterated this message. We have, through official and ministerial level contacts, urged, China, Russia, and Sudan's African and Arab neighbours to press the Government of Sudan to reverse their decision.
	To date, there has been no indication that the Government of Sudan will reverse their decision and allow the 13 NGOs to remain in Sudan.

Terrorism: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1415W, on terrorism: finance, how much of the £80 million allocated to his Department and the £6 million allocated to the British Council for tackling terrorism and promoting understanding overseas for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 is new funding.

Bill Rammell: All of the £80 million and £6 million allocated to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British Council respectively in the 2008-11 comprehensive spending review was new funding.

Thailand: Demonstrations

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints were made to his Department on the conduct of the British Embassy in Thailand during the closure of Bangkok Airport in December 2008.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 2 March 2009
	An estimated 6,000 British nationals had their travel plans disrupted during the closure of Bangkok's two main airports by People's Alliance for Democracy demonstrators last year. Our consular team in Bangkok spoke to about 400 callers per day during this period, visited Bangkok hotels and made contact with British nationals. We received one complaint through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's formal complaints procedure about the Government's response to the airport closure. Separately we have received approximately 50 letters and emails from members of the public and 15 letters from MPs whose constituents were unhappy with the assistance provided by the Government.

Treaty of Lisbon

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on  (a) completion of the Treaty of Lisbon ratification process and  (b) implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon by EU member states.

Caroline Flint: At the December 2008 European Council, a way forward was agreed on the Lisbon treaty on the basis of proposals from the Irish Government. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made a statement on the European Council to Parliament on 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 813.
	There have been no formal discussions at EU level since December. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers regularly meet their EU counterparts to discuss a range of issues including the Treaty of Lisbon.
	The Irish Government gave an update on their progress at the Spring European Council on 19-20 March 2009.

UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the UK plans to  (a) sign and  (b) ratify the UN convention on enforced disappearances; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Government are currently examining the potential impact of the UN Convention against enforced disappearance on the law of the UK. In particular, lawyers are analysing the extent to which common law provisions may need to be replicated in statute law, and the introduction of one or more specific criminal offences.
	If the Government decide to ratify the convention, these changes to the law would require primary legislation, which would be introduced when parliamentary time allowed. Decisions would also need to be taken in due course on whether the UK required any reservations or declarations upon ratification. These are complex issues requiring further consideration and analysis which will take some time to complete.

UN World Conference against Racism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to withdraw from the UN Durban 2 anti-racism conference; what recent discussions he has had with  (a) EU member states,  (b) the US administration and  (c) the government of Israel on this issue; what recent representations he has received (i) supporting and (ii) opposing a withdrawal from the conference; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The UK is still engaged in the Durban Review process and we will keep our position under review. We hope that there is still time to return the focus of preparations to reviewing work undertaken to combat racism and implement the 2001 Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, thus enhancing the prospect of a consensus outcome. But a change in this direction will be required for any outcome document to gain our support.
	We have, on several occasions, expressed our view on the Durban Review Conference: we want the conference to forge a collective will to fight against racism in all its forms, in all countries in the world. The Government remain deeply concerned about the draft outcome document.
	Ministers and officials have had regular discussions with EU partners and the US administration on the Durban Review Conference. I discussed it with the Israeli ambassador when he called on me on 11 March 2009.
	We have received numerous representations both urging us to remain engaged in the process to strengthen the concluding document, and also expressing concern about the direction it has taken.

Uzbekistan: Sanctions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the efficacy of EU sanctions on Uzbekistan.

Caroline Flint: The UK has consistently argued that sanctions have been an important factor in bringing about positive, albeit limited, progress in the human rights situation in Uzbekistan.
	While serious concerns persist about the overall human rights situation, recent developments include:
	the release of five human rights defenders, including Mutabar Tojibayeva, the most egregious of the Uzbek human rights cases of concern to the EU;
	the resumption of prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross;
	the entry into force of the abolition of the death penalty, and the introduction of a limited form of habeas corpus.

Uzbekistan: Visas

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Uzbekistan  (a) officials and  (b) politicians are subject to the EU visa ban.

Caroline Flint: None. The EU visa ban was lifted at the October 2008 General Affairs and External Relations Council.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with governments in the region on the political situation in Zimbabwe.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 19 March 2009
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Zimbabwe with Dlamini-Zuma, his South African counterpart, in a telephonic conversation on 9 and 16 February 2009, and at a meeting on 6 March 2009. My noble Friend, Lord Malloch-Brown, the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, regularly speaks with representatives of southern African governments about Zimbabwe, a number of whom he met on 16 March 2009.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Bank Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with which banks his Department has or has had contracts for the provision of financial advice, for the financial year 2008-09.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (excluding its agencies and Executive NDPBs) does not have contracts with any banks for the provision of financial advice.
	The main banking services which the Department use are part of a Northern Ireland civil service wide contract which is managed by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland.

Departmental Catering

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which  (a) food and  (b) drinks companies have supplied his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid to each of those suppliers in each of those years.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) records expenditure for food and drink under the description of either hospitality or catering. These expenditure types are also used to record spending on related services and equipment and as a consequence, some of the suppliers used may not be termed as food or drink companies. Due to the high volume of transactions within these expenditure areas, it would only be possible to extract the food and drink companies at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Plants

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on  (a) pot plants and  (b) cut flowers in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) does not record expenditure under these headings. However, the following table shows the total costs paid to florists and nurseries in the last three financial years (excluding agencies and Executive NDPBs):
	
		
			  Financial Year  Expenditure (£) 
			 2005-06 26,892 
			 2006-07 25,755 
			 2007-08 28,412 
		
	
	Flowers and pot plants are generally purchased as decoration when the NIO hosts official events such as receptions, for example for military personnel returning and ceremonies such as Royal garden parties honouring community and civic leaders. Where possible, the Department will make use of these items at more than one event.
	These figures also include flowers purchased for events which are held in Hillsborough castle on behalf of other parties. Although the NIO does not charge these external customers directly for the cost of flowers, an administration charge is levied to cover sundry costs.

Drugs: Crime

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were convicted of offences relating to the possession of drugs in  (a) 1998 and  (b) 2008.

Paul Goggins: Conviction data for 2008 are not available; 2006 is the latest available year. With regards to offences relating to the possession of drugs, there were 411 persons convicted in 1998 and 572 persons convicted in 2006.
	Data are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

Northern Ireland Compensation Agency

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many compensation applications were  (a) rejected and  (b) accepted by the Northern Ireland Compensation Agency in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows the claims rejected and accepted in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  Total 
			 Rejected 9,437 7,470 4,963 4,441 4,007 30,318 
			 Accepted 5,754 4,877 3,235 2,517 2,072 18,455 
			 Total 15,191 12,347 8,198 6,958 6,079 48,773 
			  Notes:  1. 2008-09 figures are up to end of February 2009.  2. The figures for accepted and rejected claims each year includes claims in the system carried forward from previous years.

Northern Ireland Prison Service: Manpower

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed in each job category by the Northern Ireland Prison Service in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The number of people employed in each job category by the Northern Ireland Prison Service in each of the last five years, filling the post at each rank or grade substantively, is as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Year ending 31 March  
			  Job category  2004-05( 1)  2005-06( 1)  2006-07( 1)  2007-08  As at 18 March 2009 
			 Director 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Deputy Director 4 4 4 4 3 
			 Non ex. Director 1 2 2 2 4 
			 Governor 1 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Governor 2 4 4 4 4 4 
			 Governor 3 2 2 3 3 3 
			 Governor 4 8 9 12 12 10 
			 Governor 5 18 19 14 20 19 
			 Principal Officer 72 67 63 58 65 
			 Senior Officer 171 166 166 159 146 
			 Main Grade Officer 1,268 1,260 1,229 1,176 1,132 
			 Operational Support Grade 0 0 0 17 114 
			 Night Custody/Patrol Officer 83 139 159 184 190 
			 Senior Prisoner Custody Officer 0 0 7 6 15 
			 Prisoner Custody Officer 0 0 93 149 174 
			 Grade A 22 20 19 20 21 
			 Grade B1 30 33 32 35 39 
			 Grade B2 51 53 56 51 64 
			 Grade C 79 81 79 80 101 
			 Grade Dl 107 108 117 118 130 
			 Grade D2 57 59 42 43 37 
			 Civilian Support Staff 95 88 87 86 70 
			 Total 2,075 2,117 2,191 2,230 2,344 
			 (1) These figures reflect the full-time equivalent staff. Actual staff in post figures are only available from 2007 onwards.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Equal Opportunities

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many people the Government Equalities Office estimates are subject to intersectional multiple discrimination in the workplace without a remedy in law.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	Data on the number of people in the UK who are subject to intersectional multiple discrimination in the workplace but are without a remedy in law are not collected because it is not currently possible for people to bring such claims.
	In estimating the number of people subject to intersectional multiple discrimination, but who are without a remedy in law, GEO has drawn on international comparisons. Over the last three years, an average of 7.5 per cent. of the number of cases per year brought to the Irish Equality Tribunals included claims on multiple (additive) grounds. This figure could include intersectional claims but these are not separately identified.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Members: Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 966W, on Members: pensions, how much stock owned by the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund and held in pooled funds has been lent in each of the last two years; and what the monetary value of the stock was when it was  (a) lent and  (b) returned.

Chris Bryant: As I stated in the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 966W, stock lending is not allowed in the segregated funds of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF). The Trustees have no role in deciding the policy on stock lending in pooled funds used by the PCPF.
	Stock lending by investment managers of pooled funds is intended to enhance the returns to their clients. Within a pooled fund no specific stocks are either owned by, or clearly attributable to, a single investor. Thus, the (PCPF) has a proportionate share in the value of the total stock within one or more equity-based funds.
	At 31 December 2007 and 31 December 2008 the PCPF had pooled assets on loan to the value of some £31 million and £19 million, respectively, representing some 8 per cent. and 6 per cent. of the total value of the Fund on these dates.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government have taken to ensure the welfare of animals held in quarantine facilities in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 10 March 2009
	The welfare of animals held in quarantine is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. The Act also contains a Duty of Care to animals—this means that anyone responsible for an animal must take reasonable steps to make sure the animal's needs are met.
	These include the need for a suitable environment; for a suitable diet; to exhibit normal behaviour patterns; to be housed with, or apart from, other animals (if applicable), and to be protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease.
	Every approved quarantine premises must have a veterinary presence six days a week. It is the Veterinary Superintendent's responsibility to monitor the welfare of animals in quarantine and take any necessary action to prevent suffering.

Animal Welfare: EU Law

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on the revision of EC Regulation 1/2005 on animal welfare in transport.

Jane Kennedy: While we have yet to enter into formal discussions with the European Commission on the review of EC Regulation 1/2005 on the welfare of animals during transport, as it has yet to publish formal proposals, we have responded to early opportunities presented by the Commission to comment on a draft options paper. The UK provided a set of generic principles which was drawn up in close consultation with the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer in Wales, the Scottish Government Rural Directorate and the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland. We fully support the Commission's initiative to review key elements of the Regulation and welcomed the opportunity in the early stages of the review process to express our opinion on the Commission's policy options.

Animal Welfare: EU Law

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the proposed revision of EC Regulation 1/2005 on animal welfare in transport on livestock transportation in the Highlands and Islands.

Jane Kennedy: The European Commission has yet to publish its formal proposals for the review of EC Regulation 1/2005 on the welfare of animals during transport. We are working closely with the Scottish Government Rural Directorate to prepare for the review. Its input will be central to establishing the likely effects of the review of the Regulation on livestock transportation in the Highlands and Islands.

Bovine Tuberculosis

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department plans to allocate for measures to tackle bovine tuberculosis in the next three years.

Jane Kennedy: The following table sets out the budget which has been allocated by DEFRA for expenditure on bovine tuberculosis in 2009-10. No allocation has yet been made for 2010-11 onwards and as such we are unable to provide any estimates.
	
		
			  Breakdown of bovine tuberculosis forecast expenditure for 2009-10 
			   £ million (forecast only) 
			 Cattle testing 37.8 
			 Compensation 23 
			 Surveillance activity by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) 6.7 
			 Other research 8.4 
			 HQ/overheads 1.8 
			 Total 77.7 
			  Notes: 1. 2009-10 figures are provisional and subject to change 2. Data sourced from DEFRA Oracle financial system 3. Cattle testing—the cost of carrying out the testing of cattle for tuberculosis by arranging, assessing and monitoring tests, conducting investigations of incident herds and diagnostic testing by Local Veterinary Inspectors on behalf of DEFRA. (NB This expenditure is funded by DEFRA for the UK) 4. Compensation—includes payments for 'reactors' and 'contact animals' which are compulsorily slaughtered. This includes 'salvage' money received by the Government for those carcasses which are permitted to go into the food chain or are eligible for Over Thirty Month Scheme payments. (NB This funding is for England only) 5. Surveillance activity by the VLA—includes all DEFRA funded work carried out by the VLA relating to tuberculosis in cattle and badgers including the supply of tuberculin. (NB This expenditure is funded by DEFRA for the UK) 6. HQ/overheads—includes staff costs for veterinary advice and administration of tuberculosis policy in England only.

Central Heating

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effect on UK oil-fired central heating boiler manufacturers of implementation of the proposed Energy Using Products Directive in 2013;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to seek amendments to the proposed Energy Using Products Directive to ensure that the UK boiler industry is able to meet the Directive's emission requirements.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 16 March 2009
	The Government recognises that the nitrogen oxides emission levels proposed in the commission's draft implementing measures on boilers and water heaters are challenging for the industry to achieve. DEFRA officials are working together with industry representatives to understand the impact on UK oil-fired boiler manufacturers and to determine a level to propose to the commission that is achievable for the industry.

Compost

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many in-vessel composting facilities are operating in each local authority area.

Jane Kennedy: The following table indicates the number of in-vessel and windrow composting sites that are licensed in each district in each Environment Agency region. Where there are n/a entries, this indicates that the site is currently in the process of surrendering its permit.
	Prior to standard permits being introduced, the Environment Agency's permit recording system did not distinguish between in-vessel and windrow composting and it would therefore incur disproportionate cost to collate figures for in-vessel alone.
	
		
			  Agency area  District  Total 
			  Anglian: Central Area Aylesbury Vale 1 
			  Bedford 2 
			  Breckland 1 
			  East Cambridgeshire 1 
			  Forest Heath 1 
			  Huntingdonshire 3 
			  King's Lynn and West Norfolk 1 
			  Milton Keynes 1 
			  South Bedfordshire 2 
			  South Cambridgeshire 1 
			  South Northamptonshire 1 
			  St. Edmundsbury 2 
			  n/a 3 
			 Anglian: Central Area total  20 
			
			  Anglian: Eastern Area Basildon 1 
			  Broadland 2 
			  Chelmsford 1 
			  Colchester 1 
			  Ipswich 1 
			  Maldon 1 
			  North Norfolk 1 
			  Rochford 1 
			  South Norfolk 2 
			  Suffolk Coastal 2 
			  Waveney 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 Anglian: Eastern Area total  15 
			
			  Anglian: Northern Area Daventry 3 
			  East Lindsey 1 
			  East Northamptonshire 1 
			  Harborough 1 
			  North East Lincolnshire 1 
			  North Lincolnshire 2 
			  Peterborough 1 
			  South Holland 2 
			  South Kesteven 2 
			  Wellingborough 1 
			  West Lindsey 1 
			 Anglian: Northern Area total  16 
			
			  Midlands: Lower Severn Bridgnorth 1 
			  Forest of Dean 2 
			  North Shropshire 1 
			  Powys 1 
			  Shrewsbury and Atcham 1 
			  Stroud 2 
			  Telford and Wrekin 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 Midlands: Lower Severn total  10 
			
			  Midlands: Lower Trent Doncaster 2 
			  Erewash 1 
			  Newark and Sherwood 1 
			  North Kesteven 2 
			  North Lincolnshire 1 
			  North West Leicestershire 1 
			  Rotherham 1 
			  Rushcliffe 1 
			  South Derbyshire 2 
			  n/a 1 
			 Midlands: Lower Trent total  13 
			
			  Midlands: Upper Trent Birmingham 3 
			  Derbyshire Dales 1 
			  Hinckley and Bosworth 1 
			  Lichfield 1 
			  Newcastle-under-Lyme 1 
			  North Warwickshire 1 
			  Rugby 1 
			  Solihull 1 
			  South Staffordshire 3 
			  Stafford 3 
			  Stratford-on-Avon 1 
			 Midlands: Upper Trent total  17 
			
			  North East: Dales East Riding of Yorkshire 2 
			  Leeds 1 
			  Richmondshire 1 
			  Scarborough 1 
			  Sedgefield 1 
			  Stockton-on-Tees 1 
			 North East: Dales total  7 
			
			  North East: Northumbria Durham 1 
			  Newcastle upon Tyne 1 
			  South Tyneside 1 
			  Tynedale 1 
			  Wansbeck 2 
			  n/a 3 
			 North East: Northumbria total  9 
			
			  North East: Ridings Calderdale 1 
			  East Riding of Yorkshire 1 
			  Leeds 1 
			  Sheffield 1 
			  Wakefield 1 
			 North East: Ridings total  5 
			
			  North West: Central Knowsley 1 
			  Preston 2 
			  Sefton 2 
			  South Ribble 1 
			 North West: Central total  6 
			
			  North West: Northern Carlisle 2 
			  Eden 1 
			 North West: Northern total  3 
			
			  North West: Southern Chester 2 
			  Congleton 2 
			  Crewe and Nantwich 2 
			  Halton 1 
			  Knowsley 2 
			  Manchester 2 
			  St. Helens 1 
			  Vale Royal 1 
			 North West: Southern total  13 
			
			  South West: Cornwall North Cornwall 1 
			  Penwith 1 
			 South West: Cornwall total  2 
			
			  South West: Devon East Devon 1 
			  Mid Devon 1 
			  South Hams 1 
			  Teignbridge 1 
			  Torridge 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 South West: Devon total  6 
			
			  South West: North Wessex Bath and North East Somerset 1 
			  North Wiltshire 1 
			  Sedgemoor 1 
			  South Somerset 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 South West: North Wessex total  5 
			
			  South West: South Wessex Bournemouth 1 
			  Christchurch 1 
			  North Dorset 1 
			  Weymouth and Portland 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 South West: South Wessex total  5 
			
			  Southern: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Arun 1 
			  Basingstoke and Deane 4 
			  Chichester 2 
			  Fareham 1 
			  Havant 1 
			  Isle of Wight 2 
			  Mid Sussex 1 
			  Salisbury 1 
			  Test Valley 1 
			  n/a 2 
			 Southern: Hampshire and Isle of Wight total  16 
			
			  Southern: Kent Canterbury 1 
			  Lewes 1 
			  Sevenoaks 2 
			  Shepway 1 
			  Swale 2 
			  Tonbridge and Malling 1 
			  Wealden 1 
			 Southern: Kent total  9 
			
			  Southern: Sussex n/a 1 
			 Southern: Sussex total  1 
			
			  Thames: North East Brentwood 1 
			  Enfield 1 
			  Epping Forest 1 
			  Havering 1 
			  Hertsmere 1 
			  Hillingdon 3 
			  Newham 1 
			  North Hertfordshire 2 
			  St. Albans 1 
			  n/a 3 
			 Thames: North East total  15 
			
			  Thames: South East Bracknell Forest 1 
			  Croydon 1 
			  n/a 3 
			 Thames: South East total  5 
			
			  Thames: West Cherwell 1 
			  Cotswold 2 
			  South Oxfordshire 1 
			  Vale of White Horse 1 
			  West Berkshire 1 
			  West Oxfordshire 1 
			  Wycombe 2 
			 Thames: West total  9 
			
			  Wales: Buckley Gwynedd 2 
			  Isle of Anglesey 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 Wales: Buckley total  4 
			
			  Wales: Cardiff Cardiff 1 
			  Herefordshire, County of 1 
			  Monmouthshire 1 
			  n/a 1 
			 Wales: Cardiff total  4 
			
			  Wales: Swansea Carmarthenshire 2 
			 Wales: Swansea total  2

Compost

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on the incorporation of composting into their household waste management strategies; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not had any recent discussions with local authorities on the incorporation of composting into their household waste management strategies.
	Composting is one approach for diverting biodegradable material from landfill and local authorities already consider this as part of their management of household waste. This contributes to the good progress being made towards the target set in England's Waste Strategy 2007 to recycle or compost 50 per cent. of household waste by 2020, with annual figures up to the first quarter of 2008-09 showing 35 per cent. of household waste being recycled or composted.

Departmental Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many members of staff in his Department  (a) are employed to deal with matters relating to animal welfare and  (b) deal with animal-related matters as part of their remit.

Jane Kennedy: The equivalent of approximately 97 members of staff are employed to deal with animal welfare, while a total of approximately 2,084 deal with a variety of animal related matters as part of their wider remit.

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Cabinet sub-committee on floods to meet.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government published a detailed response to Sir Michael Pitt's recommendations in December, and on this point, said that the new Committee would hold its inaugural meeting in the new year. Good progress is being made on the recommendations of the Pitt Review, and the Government will publish a progress update in the summer.
	It is established practice that information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including exactly when they are to meet, is not disclosed.

Floods: Property Development

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors the Environment Agency takes into account in deciding whether to waive restrictions on building in flood risk areas; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Environment Agency has no powers to waive restrictions on buildings in flood risk areas. As a consultee, it provides advice on the flood risk implications of development proposals. The Environment Agency's advice is intended to ensure that new development will be safe from flooding, does not increase flood risk elsewhere and takes into account climate change. This is in line with Planning Policy Statement 25—Development and Flood Risk.

Food Supply

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tonnage of food is stored in the UK.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not hold information on the total food held in the country.

Food: Packaging

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) average cost per local authority and  (b) total cost of disposing of supermarket food packaging was in each region in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Neither DEFRA nor the Waste Resources Action Programmes holds this information.

Incinerators: Hazardous Substances

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether incinerator operators are required to test incinerator bottom ash for H14 ecotoxicity; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 18 March 2009
	Incinerator operators are required to test and assess their bottom ash for all hazards including H14.

Incinerators: Hazardous Substances

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of each submission made to the public consultation undertaken by the Environment Agency on H14 ecotoxicity testing in October 2007.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 18 March 2009
	The responses to the Environment Agency's consultation on H14 ecotoxicity will be placed in the Library of the House once each consultation response has been checked for confidentiality.

Incinerators: Hazardous Substances

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that the results of the ecotoxicity testing of incinerator bottom ash are included in the Environment Agency regional registers.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 18 March 2009
	Assessments for hazardous waste by waste producers are not submitted to the Environment Agency. There is no legislative requirement for producers to do this and hence no inclusion on registers.

Metals: Recycling

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he or a Minister from his Department will meet a delegation representing the British metals recycling industry to discuss the review of waste exemptions from environmental permitting.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 16 March 2009
	I have recently responded to a letter from the British Metals Recycling Association agreeing to meet them to discuss a range of issues affecting the metal recycling sector.

Patagial Tagging

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects legislation amending the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 to allow the fitting of patagial tags by non-veterinarians to come into force.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA is in the final stages of producing an exemption order under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 to permit non-veterinarians to wing and web tag non-farmed birds for conservation and research purposes. We hope that the new legislation will be in force within the next couple of months.

Pigs

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the pig industry on Government assistance for that sector; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: As Minister for Farming and the Environment I have met representatives of the pig industry and producers on a number of occasions to discuss what the Government can do to help the industry achieve profitability and long-term economic sustainability.
	It is clear from my discussions that it is most important that all segments of the pig meat supply chain should come together in a spirit of co-operation to jointly address a number of issues that have a significant impact on the economic health of the pig industry. These include public sector procurement policy; country of origin labelling and the burden of environmental regulations.
	In response I have therefore set up the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force which brings together for the first time producers, processors, retailers, consumer groups and the Government. The first meeting of the task force took place on 18 March when a work programme of outcomes and targets will be agreed. The work will be remitted to —sub-groups of co-opted experts who will urgently take the work forward to completion by the end of the task force's planned lifetime.

Plastics: Recycling

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage the reprocessing of plastic waste in the UK.

Jane Kennedy: The DEFRA-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) works to develop new markets for waste in the UK. WRAP has supported several companies, through a range of financial and technical assistance mechanisms, in developing new and existing plastic recycling businesses.
	Since its creation, WRAP has provided over £3.1 million in capital grants to plastics recycling businesses. In the next five years, these will divert a total of over 270,000 tonnes of plastic waste from landfill.
	Plastic bottle recycling has significantly expanded in recent years, with around 132,000 tonnes of plastic bottles collected and recycled from UK households in 2006. WRAP'S focus has therefore moved on to mixed plastics (plastic packaging other than plastic bottles).
	WRAP has undertaken trials with a number of technologies, with the aim of understanding the best ways to handle mixed plastics from an environmental, economical and technological perspective. The programme has investigated three main areas: collection, reprocessing, and end markets. The trials showed clearly that it is economically viable to recycle the vast majority of the mixed plastics we currently send to landfill, and there are clear environmental gains in doing so. WRAP is now working with councils and industry partners to deliver mixed plastics reprocessing in the UK.

Recycling: North West

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was recycled  (a) in total and  (b) on average per head of population by each local authority in the North West in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: The following table shows the available local authority level data for household recycling tonnages and the amount of household waste recycled per person for each local authority in the North West of England for the last three financial years. The data for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are either incomplete or unreliable at local authority level.
	
		
			   Household recycling and composting (tonnes)  Household recycling and composting (kg per person) 
			  Authority  2005- 0 6  2006- 0 7  2007- 0 8  2005- 0 6  2006- 0 7  2007- 0 8 
			 Allerdale Borough Council 13,656 14,227 15,619 143.29 147.74 165.63 
			 Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council 6,025 5,790 6,703 85.46 82.59 93.35 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 16,483 18,328 20,833 117.57 130.73 147.54 
			 Blackpool Borough Council 19,050 22,567 22,970 133.50 157.92 160.97 
			 Bolton MBC 25,793 31,751 33,572 97.40 119.63 127.94 
			 Burnley Borough Council 9,061 10,151 10,445 102.85 115.74 118.69 
			 Bury MBC 16,531 18,466 20,550 90.78 100.63 112.35 
			 Carlisle City Council 14,043 16,282 22,405 135.68 154.77 216.89 
			 Chester City Council 14,362 15,543 16,095 120.69 131.05 134.46 
			 Chorley Borough Council 15,650 18,224 19,455 151.94 175.74 187.61 
			 Congleton Borough Council 14,370 16,000 18,938 156.54 174.29 204.96 
			 Copeland Borough Council 9,535 9,693 10,490 135.06 135.57 149.22 
			 Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council 11,540 15,220 16,775 101.77 133.98 144.86 
			 Eden District Council 9,021 10,487 11,059 173.47 198.61 213.91 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council 11,793 15,425 16,134 145.77 191.37 197.23 
			 Fylde Borough Council 11,793 12,562 13,233 155.58 164.42 174.80 
			 Halton Borough Council 15,235 16,538 17,545 128.14 139.21 146.82 
			 Hyndburn Borough Council 6,747 8,251 8,769 82.69 101.11 106.67 
			 Knowsley MBC 8,443 10,704 11,909 56.36 71.65 78.71 
			 Lancaster City Council 9,055 13,253 16,390 66.24 96.04 114.62 
			 Liverpool City Council 20,348 24,223 41,994 45.78 54.13 96.30 
			 Macclesfield Borough Council 15,305 26,016 30,475 101.76 172.86 202.35 
			 Manchester City Council MBC 34,419 37,021 42,423 78.76 83.91 93.86 
			 Oldham MBC 10,065 13,001 16,292 46.11 59.31 74.19 
			 Pendle Borough Council 9,872 10,856 11,527 110.55 121.57 127.93 
			 Preston City Council 13,012 14,925 15,683 99.33 113.67 118.81 
			 Ribble Valley Borough Council 4,053 4,909 5,744 71.60 86.27 99.38 
			 Rochdale MBC 9,256 14,053 17,880 44.82 68.09 86.59 
			 Rossendale Borough Council 5,896 6,988 8,293 89.47 105.88 124.34 
			 Salford City Council MBC 12,768 18,261 22,568 59.00 84.38 103.52 
			 Sefton MBC 22,184 26,272 31,650 78.72 93.53 114.10 
			 South Lakeland District Council 11,527 16,416 20,037 112.02 159.54 191.19 
			 South Ribble Borough Council 13,746 18,157 18,582 130.29 171.61 174.65 
			 St. Helens MBC 14,982 17,218 20,071 84.79 97.66 113.01 
			 Stockport MBC 37,853 37,217 39,748 134.13 132.16 141.65 
			 Tameside MBC 12,395 20,259 22,408 58.00 94.62 104.52 
			 Trafford MBC 15,722 23,489 25,202 73.92 110.17 118.99 
			 Vale Royal Borough Council 21,370 24,067 25,026 171.65 193.15 198.62 
			 Warrington Borough Council 19,485 28,871 34,072 100.59 148.28 175.63 
			 West Lancashire District Council 13,463 16,585 18,512 123.29 151.46 168.60 
			 Wigan MBC 28,914 35,097 42,043 94.68 114.44 137.62 
			 Wirral MBC 16,306 19,889 43,381 52.08 63.52 139.40 
			 Wyre Borough Council 15,808 19,849 20,338 144.63 180.61 184.22 
			  Source:  WasteDataFlow

Renewable Energy: Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many landfill sites in each local authority area are designated as green energy plants supplying energy from waste.

Jane Kennedy: Environment Agency records indicate that there are at least 68 landfills with an identified landfill gas utilisation scheme. I am arranging for a list of these sites to be placed in the Library of the House.

Soya: Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of imported soya was produced in Brazil in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: According to HMRC official overseas trade statistics, in 2008, 45 per cent. of UK imports of soya were recorded as originating in Brazil. This is based on the volume of trade and includes both soya beans and soya meal. 2008 figures are provisional.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Cultural Relations

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much has been spent on the Connections through Culture programme in each of the last three years; and how much is planned to be spent on the programme in each of the next two years;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the Connections through Culture programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what financial contributions have been received from other organisations for the Connections through Culture programme;
	(4)  what financial contributions to the Connections through Culture programme have been received from other organisations;
	(5)  how much his Department has spent on the Connections through Culture programme in each of the last three years; and how much he expects to spend on it in each of the next two years;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the performance against objectives of the first term of the Connections through Culture programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  what plans he has to extend the Connections through Culture programmes to further countries.

Barbara Follett: The China: UK Connections through Culture programme is a three-year programme led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the British Council, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government. The programme has cost just under £1 million, spread equally over the last three years.
	The programme runs from 2006-09 and aims to build long-lasting cultural connections. It has been hugely successful in promoting and encouraging sustainable cultural partnerships between the UK and China. A second term of Connections through Culture from 2009-12 has been agreed to ensure a lasting and tangible legacy in the run up to the Shanghai Expo and London 2012.
	An independent evaluation of the first term of the programme was completed at the end of 2008. It concluded that Connections through Culture is a successful and responsive model of exchange unmatched by any overseas government agency in China and that the implementation of the programme has been exemplary.
	Funding contributions in the first three-year cycle of the programme were as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 DCMS 300,000 
			 FCO 300,000 
			 British Council 300,000 
			 Scottish Government 45,000 
			 Welsh Assembly Government 15,000 
		
	
	The budget for 2009-12 has not yet been agreed.
	We are currently looking at options to transfer this model to India with which the UK seeks to strengthen cultural ties.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1739W, on departmental data protection, what security systems are in place to separate visitor and test wireless networks from his Department's local area network infrastructure; what policies are in place for the protection of local area network infrastructure via  (a) firewalls and  (b) layer three switches; who is responsible for auditing and checking these security measures; how frequently security checks are performed; and what the average time is for remediation of vulnerabilities.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There is no connection between the visitor and test wireless networks and the test wireless network does not carry any work or protectively marked traffic. No wireless network is connected to the main office network.
	All wireless connections are protected by hardware firewalls and are covered as part of the regular annual audit process. Security vulnerabilities are addressed immediately they are notified.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1739-40W, on departmental data protection, what systems are in place to ensure that his Department's IT security hierarchy is fit for purpose.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Our Security Operating Protocol is reviewed by external auditors on an annual basis.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1739W, on departmental data protection, how frequently  (a) internal and  (b) independent external auditing of compliance takes place; what the criteria of such audits are; what elements are checked; whether his Department undertakes social engineering pen tests; what password policies his Department has in place; and what systems are in place to ensure that staff comply with those policies.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Internal auditing of compliance takes place at least annually. Independent external auditing is carried out on an annual basis. A number of criteria are used including the GSi Code of Connection, the Security Policy Framework, industry best practice and relevant Info Sec Memoranda.
	We do not report on the scope of security testing nor the full list of test criteria for security reasons.
	My Department does carry out social engineering vulnerability testing.
	My Department's password policies conform to central standards.
	A full range of guidance on security policies and best practice is available to staff via my Department's intranet.
	We are currently deploying additional training and compliance testing for all staff.

Departmental Lost Property

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether officials in his Department who have lost laptops that were the property of his Department in the last 12 months have been charged the full value of replacement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No officials in my Department have lost laptops in the past 12 months.

Departmental NDPBs: Pay

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) the Big Lottery Fund,  (b) the Heritage Lottery Fund,  (c) English Heritage,  (d) Arts Council England,  (e) UK Sport,  (f) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and  (g) Sport England spent on bonuses for their staff in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: We have been advised by the following organisations that spend on staff bonuses in each of the years is as follows:
	
		
			  Organisation  Spend on staff bonuses (£) 
			  (a) Big Lottery Fund  
			 2005-06 197,739 
			 2006-07 210,184 
			 2007-08 221,665 
			   
			  (b) Heritage Lottery Fund  
			 2005-06 31,291 
			 2006-07 35,161 
			 2007-08 37,083 
			   
			  (c) English Heritage  
			 2005-06 253,000 
			 2006-07 303,000 
			 2007-08 243,000 
			   
			  (d) Arts Council England  
			 2005-06 140,371 
			 2006-07 159,121 
			 2007-08 280,675 
			   
			  (e) UK Sport  
			 2005-06 144,317 
			 2006-07 160,310 
			 2007-08 199,156 
			   
			  (f) The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council  
			 2005-06 17,578 
			 2006-07 26,965 
			 2007-08 57,095 
			   
			  (g) Sport England  
			 2005-06 21,222 
			 2006-07 24,258 
			 2007-08 0

Departmental Public Consultations

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what public consultations were undertaken by his Department in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on all public consultations undertaken by my Department is available on the DCMS website:
	www.culture.gov.uk
	13 such consultations were launched in 2008, 24 in 2007 and 27 in 2006. Details of these consultations, broken down by year of consultation launch are as follows:
	 2008
	The Draft Categories of Gaming Machine (Amendment) Regulations 2009 and The Draft Gambling Act 2005 (Limits on Prize Gaming) Regulations 2009.
	World Heritage for the Nation: Identifying, Protecting and Promoting our World Heritage.
	Council of Europe Transfrontier Television Convention (TTV): Preliminary Consultation September 2008.
	The Gambling Act (Variation of Monetary Limits for Gaming Machines) Order 2008.
	Core Receiver Requirements for the Digital Switchover Help Scheme Consultation.
	Licensing consultation—proposals to introduce a new minor variations process, and remove certain requirements at community premises.
	Video Games consultation.
	Public consultation on implementing the EU audiovisual media services directive.
	Gambling Act 2005 (Variation of Monetary Limits) Order 2008.
	Proposed Gambling Act 2005 (gaming machines in bingo premises) Order 2008.
	Consultation on Television Multiplex Services (Reservation of Digital Capacity) Order 2008.
	Consultation on Community Radio.
	Gambling Act 2005—Proposals for Gambling Commission Fees from 1 August 2008.
	 2007
	Consultation on proposal to introduce a simplified process for minor variations to premises licences and club premises certificates.
	McMaster Review—Assessing excellence in the arts.
	Consultation on draft regulations for museums on the publication of information about cultural objects on loan under Part 6 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
	Regulatory Reform Order: Proposal to Remove the Requirement for the Designated Premises Supervisor for Community Premises.
	The Governance of Britain, Flag Flying.
	Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a European agenda for culture in a globalising world.
	The Gambling Act (Small Society Lotteries) (Registration of Non-Commercial Societies) Regulations 2007.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Temporary Use Notices.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Draft Regulations under sections 235(5), 240 and 241 of the Gambling Act 2005.
	DCMS Equality Scheme 2007-2010 Consultation.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on the Review of Premises Licence Regulations.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Lottery Machine Interval Order.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Gambling at Non-commercial Events.
	Consultation—Gambling Act 2005: Licensed Premises Gaming Machine Permits Regulations.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Club Gaming and Club Machine Permits.
	Consultation on DCMS Welsh Language Scheme 2007-2011.
	Consultation on The Gambling Act 2005: (Limits on Prize Gaming) Regulations.
	Heritage Protection for the 21st Century—White Paper.
	Gambling Act 2005: Definition of Dual-Use and Domestic Computers
	Sports Ground Safety Legislation.
	Gambling Act 2005: Gambling (Inviting competing applications for Casino Premises Licences) Regulations.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Gaming Machine Regulations.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Gaming in Clubs and on Alcohol licensed Premises.
	Consultation on draft revised Guidance to be issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.
	 2006
	Gambling Act 2005: Premises Licence and Permits Fees Consultation.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Prize Gaming Permits and Family Entertainment Centre Gaming Machine Permits.
	Consultation on Community Audio Distribution Systems.
	Understanding the Future: Priorities for England's Museums.
	Gambling Act 2005: Responsible Authority for Vulnerable Adults Consultation.
	Gambling Act 2005: Consultation Document: Inspections.
	Consultation and partial Regulatory Impact Assessment on extending the remit of the Football Licensing Authority to the Football Conference.
	Gambling Act 2005: Premises Licence Regulations Consultation.
	Gambling Act 2005: Premises Licence Hearings Regulations Consultation.
	Proposals for Personal Licences—Consultation Paper.
	The Gambling Appeals Tribunal Draft Rules 2006.
	Draft Gambling (Premises Licences: Mandatory and Default Conditions) Regulations for the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005—Consultation Document.
	Categories of Gaming Machines—Consultation Paper.
	Gambling Act 2005: Fees—Costings Exercise.
	Proposals for Gambling Commission Fees—Consultation Paper.
	Welcome Legacy: Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games—A Consultation.
	Consultation Paper on Future Sponsorship Arrangements for the Museum of London.
	Consultation on Restitution of Objects Spoliated in the Nazi-Era.
	Gambling (Categories of Casino) Regulations and draft Order for the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005—Formal Consultation Exercise.
	Proposal by the European Commission for the Revision of The "Television Without Frontiers" Directive (Directive 89/552/EC, amended by Directive 97/36/EC).
	Data Limits and Data Services on Radio Multiplexes.
	Consultation Paper on Amendments to the Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice (Revised) England and Wales.
	Consultation on Welsh Language Forms and Documents to be prescribed under the Licensing Act 2003.
	BBC White Paper—"A public service for all: the BBC in the digital age" and Draft Royal Charter and Framework Agreement.
	Consultation on providing immunity from seizure for international works of art on loan in the UK.
	Consultation on the European Commission's proposal for European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008.
	Transitional Arrangements and Draft Order for the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005—Consultation Paper.

Departmental Public Consultations

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public consultations his Department has conducted in the last 12 months; how long each consultation was open for; how many responses were received in each case; and what the cost of conducting each consultation was.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Details of all consultations are routinely published on the DCMS website at:
	www.culture.gov.uk
	In the 2008 calendar year DCMS launched 13 consultations. Full details for these consultations are supplied in the table. All consultations launched by the Department in 2009 are still open, and because of this data are continually changing and are not included.
	Most consultations do not incur costs other than staffing time, as duties are usually undertaken by in-house teams, with the DCMS website as the mechanism recording representations. Where additional costs were incurred, details are listed in the following table—these mostly relate to costs incurred in translating material into Welsh.
	
		
			  Consultation  Consultation period  Number of responses received  Cost (£) 
			 World Heritage for the Nation: Identifying, Protecting and Promoting our World Heritage 2 December to 25 February 2009 115 (1)4,750 
			 
			 The Draft Categories of Gaming Machine (Amendment) Regulations 2009 and The Draft Gambling Act 2005 (Limits on Prize Gaming) Regulations 2009 22 December 2008 to 9 January 2009 157 0 
			 
			 Council of Europe Transfrontier Television Convention (TTV): Preliminary Consultation September 2008 1 to 31 October 2008 1 0 
			 
			 The Gambling Act (Variation of Monetary Limits for Gaming Machines) Order 2008 5 September to 31 October 2008 15 0 
			 
			 Core Receiver Requirements for the Digital Switchover Help Scheme Consultation 1 September to 13 October 2008 7 0 
			 
			 Licensing consultation - proposals to introduce a new minor variations process, and remove certain requirements at community premises 4 August to 1 September 2008 (closing date for Welsh stakeholders: 9 September 2008)   
			  Minor Variations responses 83 2,456.93 
			  Community Premises responses 67 (1)3,116.10 
			 
			 Video Games consultation 31 July to 20 November 2008 181 (2)23,578.23 
			 
			 Public consultation on implementing the EU audiovisual media services directive 25 July to 31 October 2008 59 0 
			 
			 Gambling Act 2005 (Variation of Monetary Limits) Order 2008 17 July to 9 October 2008 10 0 
			 
			 Proposed Gambling Act 2005 (gaming machines in bingo premises) Order 2008 26 June to 26 September 2008 26 0 
			 
			 Consultation on Television Multiplex Services (Reservation of Digital Capacity) Order 2008 18 April to 9 May 2008 9 0 
			 
			 Consultation on Community Radio 31 March to 6 June 2008 96 0 
			 
			 Gambling Act 2005 - Proposals for Gambling Commission Fees from 1st August 2008 10 March to 2 June 2008 27 0 
			 (1) This cost was incurred through translation into Welsh (2) These costs were incurred through translation into Welsh and for payment of research with a focus group comprising parents.  Note:  In all cases quoted costs do not include VAT, as this is recoverable.

Gaming Machines: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on seaside amusement machines; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: There were 157 responses to a second public consultation on revised prize limits for category C and certain types of category D gaming machines, which closed on 19 January 2009. The Draft Categories of Gaming Machine (Amendment) Regulations 2009 were laid in Parliament on 4 March 2009.

Government Olympic Executive

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff of his Department have been transferred to the Government Olympic Executive; and from which units such staff were transferred.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) currently comprises 89.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff of whom 27.6 have been recruited from other DCMS teams. Following a major restructuring of the Department last year we are unable to provide detailed information on the individual units in which staff worked before joining GOE. However, staff have joined the GOE from each of the main areas of the Department, including those responsible for policy, programmes, corporate services, external relations and private office.

Hotels: Fires

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to assist small hospitality accommodation providers in implementing fire safety risk assessments.

Barbara Follett: Department for Communities and Local Government in consultation with DCMS and VisitBritain, recently published 'Do You Have Paying Guests' which provided additional information to help small accommodation providers comply with fire safety legislation. The booklet seeks to address specific difficulties that the hospitality industry, specifically B and Bs, guest houses and self catering properties, have faced in understanding the new rules. It is designed to encourage compliance, by giving the owners of these businesses practical advice on reducing fire risks in their establishments. It explains the risk assessment process, sets out sources of further advice and guidance and offer some practical information for owners on what may represent appropriate and proportionate fire safety measures in these types of premises.

Research: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1069W, on departmental research, whether any projects have been commissioned using his Department's Joint Research Budget since the date of that Answer.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 13 March 2009
	 The Department has commissioned three projects:
	(i) University of London's EPPI-centre and Matrix Knowledge Group have been appointed to conduct research on participation in culture and sport. The research will draw together current evidence to address fundamental questions for public policy development in this area: what drives engagement and how do we understand and maximise the value and benefits it brings. It will report in winter 2009-10.
	(ii) Identifying and exploring options for developing a comprehensive national cultural and sporting assets database, building on active places http://www.activeplaces.co.uk/ and related datasets to look at supply across DCMS sectors. The scoping exercise will also explore the definition of a cultural and sporting asset. Contractors BOP Consulting will report in spring 2009.
	(iii) Understanding regional evidence needs. With the advent of Integrated Regional Strategies, and the wind up of the Regional Cultural Consortiums. BMG have been commissioned to identify and appraise options for meeting research and evidence needs shared by the four agencies at regional level, ensuring that common research questions can be addressed consistently within a national framework. The work should propose a number of different models to achieve this. It will report in June 2009.
	We are also working with the Economic and Social Research Council to place culture and sports engagement questions in Understanding Society:
	http://www.understandingsociety.org.uk/
	the new household longitudinal study. This will deliver initial data in 2011.

Royal Parks Agency: Repairs and Maintenance

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department  (a) budgeted for and  (b) spent on (i) car park maintenance and (ii) road maintenance for the Royal Parks Agency in relation to each Royal Park in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 9 March 2009
	The Royal Parks advise that expenditure on roads and parking areas is not disaggregated for each park. The combined expenditure figures on roads and parking areas over the past five years are as follows:
	 (a) Budgets
	 (i) and  (ii) The provisional annual allocation for road and parking area maintenance was £500,000 per year for each year since 2004-05. This budget is not park specific. Expenditure is prioritised annually and the allocation adjusted accordingly.
	 (b) Expenditure
	
		
			  Roads and parking areas 
			   £ 
			  2004-05  
			 Richmond Park 369,000 
			 Regent's Park 71,000 
			 St. James's Park 30,000 
			 Hyde Park 76,000 
			 Total 546,000 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Richmond Park 11,000 
			 Regent's Park 642,000 
			 Greenwich Park 25,000 
			 Hyde Park 6,000 
			 Bushy Park 473,000 
			 Total 1,157,000 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Regent's Park 290,000 
			 St James's 58,000 
			 Hyde Park 516,000 
			 Total 864,000 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Richmond Park 125,000 
			 Regents Park 5,000 
			 St James's Park 24,000 
			 Hyde Park (1)627,000 
			 Total 781,000 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 Richmond 46,000 
			 Regent's Park 65,000 
			 St. James's Park 440,000 
			 Hyde Park 135,000 
			 Bushy Park (2)789,000 
			 Total 1,475,000 
			   
			 Total for period 4.823 million 
			 (1) Includes TfL funding.  (2) Includes Heritage Lottery funding.   Notes:  1. All figures relate to major works and exclude expenditure on annual 'reactive maintenance' costs on roads and parking areas which is accounted separately as part of wider upkeep costs.  2. The figures also do not include expenditure on tracks, footpaths and rides that are available for the use of pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.

Sports: Grants

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consideration he has given to including the grants made by the Big Lottery Fund to community sport in the new Sport England Community Sport Strategy.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 12 February 2009
	Sport England is responsible for the national strategy to develop a world-leading community sport system. The Big Lottery Fund provides support for community sport through its funding of health, education, environment and charitable purposes, and shares its experience with all its stakeholders, including Sport England. The strategy has been informed by the Big Lottery Fund's experience of funding community sport.

Sports: Public Consultation

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations  (a) have been and  (b) are planned to be consulted in drawing up the new whole sport plans.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Whole Sport Plan process was conducted by Sport England. It provided the national governing bodies of 46 sports with the opportunity to present their vision for the whole of their sport, and many will have consulted widely as part of this process. The plans then went through a rigorous process of review by the Sport England engagement team, peer review and finally a national advisory panel, including representatives of the National Equality Partners (Sporting Equals, the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation and the English Federation of Disability Sport).

Tourism: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in British seaside resorts which are dependent on the tourism industry.

Barbara Follett: The number of jobs in British seaside resorts dependent on tourism is unavailable. The number of jobs dependent on tourism is available only for the UK as a whole and is as follows:
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Employee jobs  Self-employed jobs  All jobs 
			 2001 1,261.6 119.0 1,380.5 
			 2002 1,277.9 119.8 1,397.7 
			 2003 1,294.2 119.0 1,413.1 
			 2004 1,326.8 129.6 1,456.4 
			 2005 1,330.8 120.2 1,450.9 
			 2006 1,316.2 126.9 1,443.1 
			 2007 1,308.1 132.4 1,440.4 
			 2008 1,317.7 146.0 1,463.7 
			  Notes: 1. This table provides estimates of the number of people working whose jobs are supported by tourism. 2. The figures above are calculated by summing employee jobs and self-employment jobs (including self-employed as second job). 3. These estimates are based on the 'UK Tourism Satellite Account—First Steps Project' (TSA), which assesses the proportion of employment that is supported by tourism. 4. Due to revisions to the Workforce Jobs Survey in December 2008, back data have been revised.

Tourism: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of visits made to the English coast for the purpose of outdoor recreation in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: VisitBritain have advised that they do not hold the information in the format requested. Research methodology changed mid-way through 2005 and full year data for overnight trips are only available for 2006 and 2007.
	There were 20.7 million domestic overnight trips to the English seaside in 2006 and 20.4 million domestic overnight trips to the English seaside in 2007. No data detailing the purpose of these visits are held.
	For day visits, the latest data are from Natural England's 2005 survey and include the purpose of these visits, details of which can be found at the following web link:
	http://livelink/livelink/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/51254/246618/51948/51949/110303/England_Leisure_Day_Visit_Survey_ 2005.pdf?nodeid=2909669&vernum=-2

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Relations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2009,  Official Report, column 476W, on community relations, how much her Department is paying  (a) the Tavistock Institute and  (b) De Montfort University for the research commissioned from them.

Sadiq Khan: The total value of the contract for the research conducted by the Tavistock Institute is £24,500 plus VAT. The total cost for the De Montfort University research contract is £65,600 plus VAT.

Community Relations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2009,  Official Report, column 476W, on community relations, by what date she expects  (a) the Tavistock Institute and  (b) De Montfort University to report to her Department on the results of their research into the national and international factors contributing to violent extremism.

Sadiq Khan: The research that the Tavistock Institute is carrying out for Communities and Local Government has two phases. The first phase was finished in February, and the second phase, setting out guidelines for carrying out evaluation, is due to be available in April.
	The final report for the Rapid Evidence Assessment research being carried out by De Montfort University is due to be completed in May.

Council Housing: Rents

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 6 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 71-2WS on local authority rents, what the timetable is for  (a) additional subsidy to be granted and  (b) rents to be reduced.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities on 11 March with further information following the announcement on 6 March by the Minister for Housing, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett), of the reduction by half in the national average guideline rent increase for 2009-10.
	The letter sets out a broad timetable for implementation of the changes for those authorities accepting our offer. After a short period of consultation on new guideline rents for each authority, we envisage issuing the final 2009-10 amending Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy determination with reduced rental income for participating authorities in May. It would then be for those authorities to introduce the changes to their own timetables for reducing their tenants' rents.

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average price of a property purchased through the Own Home scheme has been since the initiative began.

Iain Wright: The average price of property purchased through Own Home is £175,000.

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average monthly interest charged by First Time Buyers Initiative  (a) funders and  (b) providers has been since the scheme began.

Iain Wright: This information is not held centrally. However, there is no interest to pay on the loan for the first three years following purchase.

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) the Government and  (b) its partners have provided for the First-Time Buyers Initiative; and how much will be provided in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: The First Time Buyers Initiative programme is funded through a government-only equity loan. The maximum level of investment under the programme will be £250 million. To date, around £137 million of the total budget has been committed. The investment phase of the programme will end in March 2010. The final level of investment will be dependent on the number of purchasers that buy a home on one of the programme's designated new build schemes.

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) the Government and  (b) its partners have provided for the OwnHome scheme; and how much will be provided in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: The Government have provided £33.8 million for OwnHome in 2008-09. This was augmented with funding from Places for People. Over the three years 2008-11, we are investing over £8 billion in affordable housing through the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). We have not allocated specific funds for OwnHome for each of the next two years to allow full flexibility within the Affordable Housing Programme operated by the HCA. Future levels of funds beyond 2010-11 will be dependent upon the next spending review.

Homebuy Scheme

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has spent on publicising each of the Homebuy schemes to date; and how much she expects to be so spent in each of the next two financial years.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 585-86W to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Andrew Stunell).

Homelessness

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many private sector properties were leased by  (a) local authorities and  (b) housing associations in order to house homeless households in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level.
	Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes so.
	Information on the numbers of households housed in temporary accommodation is reported quarterly by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter. The figure includes: those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which enquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
	The number of households in temporary accommodation, housed in private sector properties leased by local authorities and registered social landlords at the end of the each year since 1997, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation, housed in private sector properties leased by LAs and RSLs, as at 31 December, 1997 to 2008 
			   Private sector properties leased by: 
			   (a) Local authorities  (b) Registered social landlords 
			 1997 3,950 7,400 
			 1998 4,370 10,380 
			 1999 5,140 11,140 
			 2000 4,530 17,080 
			 2001 4,180 16,420 
			 2002 6,990 18,950 
			 2003 16,890 21,850 
			 2004 21,530 24,610 
			 2005 27,890 22,020 
			 2006 29,920 18,930 
			 2007 26,590 15,140 
			 2008 26,620 12,160 
			  Source: CLG P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly)

Housing: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how often her Department makes estimates of the number of new home builds; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Department publish quarterly information on the number of new house building starts and completions in England. The latest National Statistics release "House Building: December Quarter 2008, England" was published on 19 February 2009, and is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/housebuildingq42008
	New house building completions are the main component of net supply of housing, which measures the absolute change in the dwelling stock between 1 April and 31 March the following year.
	Net supply to dwelling stock is published annually. The latest statistical release "Net supply of housing: 2007-08, England" was published on 27 February 2009, and is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/netsupplyhousing200708

Housing: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built on land formerly owned by  (a) the Ministry of Defence,  (b) the National Health Service,  (c) schools and  (d) other government bodies in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: A national system for collecting information about surplus public sector land did not exist in 1997. In 2004, the Government established the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land which now requires Government Departments to register land that is to be disposed of, for any future use including housing.
	However, as part of the Surplus Public Sector Land programme, the Homes and Communities Agency (previously English Partnerships) has been working with Government Departments and other bodies to collect information about land they have sold that has subsequently been used for housing. The information available does not include schools but shows that the number of homes built since 1997 on the following bodies' surplus land were as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Ministry of Defence 10,871 
			 National Health Service/Department of Health 30,474 
			 Government bodies (British Waterway, DEFRA, Homes and Communities Agency) 18,160 
		
	
	These figures are likely to under-represent the number of homes built on land formerly owned by Government bodies. However, more detailed information cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were on the market in each of the last 20 quarters.

Iain Wright: Information on the number of affordable homes on the market is not collected centrally.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were constructed in each of the last 20 quarters.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of additional affordable homes provided in England in each of the last five years. These figures are not available quarterly.
	
		
			   Number of affordable homes provided 
			 2003-04 38,070 
			 2004-05 37,470 
			 2005-06 45,980 
			 2006-07 44,570 
			 2007-08 53,730 
		
	
	The affordable housing figures are from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS), and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) returns and P2 house building returns submitted to CLG by local authorities and the National House-Building Council.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the Design for Manufacture competition was  (a) opened and  (b) closed; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Design for Manufacture Competition was announced by the then Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott), on 26 September 2004. The Prior Information Notice was issued on 15 February 2005, and the Contract Notice (which formally opened the competition process) was issued on 29 March 2005. This allowed consortiums to register their interest in participating and to request the necessary initial documents. The last of the 10 site contracts was awarded in July 2006, and that brought the competition stage of the programme to a close. A document called 'Designed for Manufacture—lessons learnt', which explained the competition process and the individual projects in detail, was published in June 2006.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1107-8W, on housing: low incomes, when she expects a decision to be made on Ministerial approval of funding for the Up2You/First Steps scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The "Up2U/First Steps" scheme announced by the Mayor of London on 3 March was potentially novel and therefore my approval was required before funding from the Homes and Communities Agency could be committed. I immediately asked my officials to work with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to ensure that the scheme offered good value for money and that there were no practical or legal barriers to it proceeding.
	This detailed work showed that there was scope to reduce the delivery risk and improve the value for money offered by the "Up2U/First Steps" scheme. I have now approved a revised deal between the HCA and London and Quadrant (L&Q). This deal will involve the properties that were to be covered by the "Up2U/First Steps" scheme being delivered through the Government's existing intermediate market products (including Rent to HomeBuy, Intermediate Rent and New Build HomeBuy).
	As a result of this deal, all of the properties that were to be covered by the "Up2U/First Steps" scheme will now be made available at completion as affordable housing and will not instead be sold outright. As such, the deal will not only unlock development by L&Q and support the construction industry—it will also offer a better deal for both first time buyers and taxpayers.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio of lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings was in each of the last 20 quarters.

Iain Wright: The ratio of lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings in England for the years 1997 to 2008 is presented in the following table:
	
		
			   Lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings, England 
			 1997 3.51 
			 1998 3.52 
			 1999 3.66 
			 2000 3.79 
			 2001 3.97 
			 2002 4.31 
			 2003 4.94 
			 2004 6.14 
			 2005 6.66 
			 2006 7.10 
			 2007 7.37 
			 2008 7.03 
			  Source: Land Registry and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ONS).

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what forecast she has made of likely changes in the housing affordability ratio throughout 2009.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government does not make forecasts of the housing affordability ratio.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 746-7W, on mortgages: Government assistance, how many of the cases identified meeting the eligibility criteria for the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme have received assistance.

Margaret Beckett: The Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme is expected to open in April with the first lenders. The scheme will help ensure hard working people who suffer a temporary loss of income can stay in their home. It enables households that experience a redundancy or significant loss of income to reduce their monthly payments to a more manageable level, by deferring a proportion of the interest payments on their mortgage for up to two years. Further detail, including the eligibility criteria is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/buyingselling/mortgagesupportscheme/

Multiple Occupation

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers local authorities have in relation to the development of houses in multiple occupation in areas identified as tourist destinations.

Iain Wright: There are no planning powers conferred on local authorities specifically in relation to the development of houses in multiple occupation in areas identified as tourist destinations. But local authorities may make use of their general planning powers in such areas.
	The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) is intended to be a deregulatory mechanism which removes the need for planning permission between certain specified uses by grouping into classes land uses which have similar implications for local amenity. The Use Classes Order defines dwelling houses under the C3 use class as houses used by a single person, any number of persons living together as a family, or by no more than six people living together as a single household.
	HMOs do not fall within any of the specified use classes, and therefore are "sui generis" (in a class of its own) in terms of use. Planning permission is needed for a change of use to or from a sui generis use. Therefore, planning permission would be needed for a proposed change of use from a private dwelling to a HMO, or if such is deemed to have occurred.
	The current definition of a dwelling house implies that up to six people living together as a single household should not, prima facie, be considered as a HMO. However local planning authorities may determine individual cases on the basis of "fact and degree" and may decide that a dwelling with fewer than six people living together other than as a single household constitutes a HMO.
	In addition, local authorities have powers under the Housing Act 2004 to licence certain HMOs. These measures concern the condition and management of these properties and, again, are not specifically related to areas identified as tourist destinations.

Multiple Occupation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons her Department has decided not to continue with National Indicator 12; and what plans she has to replace it with a comparable indicator.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government remain committed to tackling the problems arising from rogue landlords providing private rented accommodation to illegal migrants. Having consulted the Local Government Association and the professional local government regulatory services body LACORS, we concluded that there are more effective alternative ways of promoting joint working between United Kingdom Border Agency officials and their local government counterparts across a broader spectrum of common interests than proceeding with the proposed National indicator 12. That includes the development of partnership working between local authorities and the new network of UK Border Agency local immigration teams, the majority of which will be in place by the end of next year. We will consider whether it would be appropriate to devise and consult on alternative indicators relating to immigration as part of the refresh of the National Indicator Set which is due to conclude in 2011.

Planning Obligations

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to phase out section 106 agreements following the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Iain Wright: Planning obligations (also known as section 106 agreements of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act) will remain available to local planning authorities after CIL regulations come into force. However, the Government are considering whether there is a case to restrict the scope of planning obligations in the future. Further details were set out in Chapter 5 of the Government's policy document, "The Community Infrastructure Levy" (August 2008) available on the Communities and Local Government website.

Planning Permission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many pages of national planning guidance have been issued since 2005.

Iain Wright: Since 1 January 2005, we and our precursor Department (The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) have published approximately 3,254 pages of national planning guidance. This total includes Planning Policy Statements, Circulars and other guidance documents. Some of these are available only in electronic form, on the web. Documents published since 2005 but subsequently cancelled have been omitted. We announced in the Planning White Paper (2007) that we would significantly streamline the planning policy framework.

Planning: Horticulture

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her estimate is of the  (a) number and  (b) percentage of local planning officers which have (i) a horticulture-related qualification and (ii) received training in horticulture.

Iain Wright: This information is not held centrally.

Property Development

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average price per hectare of land for new build development was in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, during the last five years the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has published twice yearly the VOA Property Market Report. The report gives opinions of value each year, as at 1 January and 1 July, for land for development for residential use. The reports for this period are available to view on the VOA website at:
	www.voa.gov.uk/publications
	The report gives values for 97 separate locations in England, plus 10 in Scotland and eight in Wales, where significant residential development is considered to be most likely to occur.

Property Transfer

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have implemented large scale voluntary housing transfers in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The following table lists the number of local authorities that have undertaken large scale voluntary transfer of housing stock in each financial year since 1997. The figure for 2008-09 is the number we expect to complete transfers.
	
		
			   Number of local authorities 
			 1997-98 15 
			 1998-99 21 
			 1999-2000 25 
			 2000-01 18 
			 2001-02 14 
			 2002-03 22 
			 2003-04 10 
			 2004-05 14 
			 2005-06 12 
			 2006-07 16 
			 2007-08 26 
			 2008-09 6

Property Transfer

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse of large-scale voluntary transfers of housing stock was in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The Department does not keep any central records of the total cost of large-scale voluntary transfers to local authorities.
	Two separate payments can be made when a local authority transfers its housing stock to a registered social landlord (RSL).
	If a local authority's attributable housing debt is not cleared either in part or in entirety by receipts from an RSL through Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) arrangements, the debt that remains is transferred from the local authority sector to central Government through a payment made to the Public Works Loan Board. Overhanging debt (OHD) payments to the Public Works Loan Board under these debt transfer arrangements since 2000-01 are shown in the following table. The Department began payments to the PWLB in 2000-01.
	
		
			   OHD amount (£ million) 
			 2000-01 276 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 548 
			 2003-04 91 
			 2004-05 591 
			 2005-06 386 
			 2006-07 544 
			 2007-08 1,213 
			 2008-09 (1)515 
			 (1) Includes transfers expected to complete by the end of financial year 2008-09. 
		
	
	Grant funding payments can be made to RSLs taking negatively valued housing stock from local authorities under LSVT arrangements. Since 1 December 2008, the Homes and Communities Agency has assumed responsibility for the housing transfer programme and will continue to make payments as required.
	These gap funding grant payments enable RSLs to lever in sufficient private finance to enable full Decent Homes investment programmes to be undertaken after transfer. Gap funding payments by the Department to registered social landlords to support large scale voluntary transfers commenced in 2004-05. The following table sets out those payments.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 7.6 
			 2005-06 3.8 
			 2006-07 22 
			 2007-08 80 
			 2008-09 (1)120 
			 (1) Forecast.

Property Transfer

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's liability relating to annual gap-funding agreements for negative value transfers of council housing stock was in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Gap funding grant payments by the Department to registered social landlords taking negatively valued housing stock under Large Scale Voluntary Transfer arrangements commenced in 2004-05. Responsibility for the housing transfer programme passed to the Homes and Communities Agency on 1 December 2008, who assumed responsibility for these grants, making payments from that date. In 2008-09, we expect that grant payments of around £120 million to be made in respect of gap funding agreements entered into for that year.
	The following table sets out the gap funding grant expenditure in each year.
	
		
			  Gap funding payments 
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 7.6 
			 2005-06 3.8 
			 2006-07 22 
			 2007-08 80

Regional Planning and Development

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have approved local development frameworks in place; and what progress has been made to ensure that all authorities have such frameworks in place.

Iain Wright: 'Local development framework' is the collective name for the various spatial planning-related documents that local planning authorities have prepared. To date the Planning Inspectorate has considered and found sound:
	43 Core Strategies
	30 Area Action Plans
	Seven Site Allocation Policies
	Seven Development Control Policies
	11 Minerals and Waste Policies
	Nine other plans dealing with specific themes
	385 Statements of Community Involvement.
	Supplementary Planning Documents do not need to be approved by the Planning Inspectorate and there is no central record of the number adopted.
	The Government agree timetables for the delivery of plans (Local Development Schemes) with local authorities and hold regular discussions with them about progress. Sector-led support is provided through the Planning Advisory Service to authorities who decide they require assistance in the preparation of their plans and the Government also fund a programme of visits by Planning Inspectors to authorities to help with plan preparation.

Repossession Orders

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on the Government's housing strategies in  (a) Northamptonshire and  (b) England of trends in the numbers of (i) repossessed and (ii) empty homes in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: We continue to monitor trends in numbers of repossessed and empty homes. Information on repossessions is available separately from the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Financial Services Authority. These data are available at the UK level only. Information on mortgage and landlord possession orders at county court level are available via the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-landlord-mortgage-historic-20-02-09.xls
	For trends in long-term (over six months) vacant dwellings at England and local authority level, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 December 2008,  Official Report, column 586W. We have strengthened local authorities' powers to deal with empty homes through:
	Use of Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) that allow councils to bring homes back into use without forcing change of ownership;
	Supporting the publication on 10 March of the independent Empty Homes Agency's Guidance on Empty Dwelling Management Orders, for which my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning provided the foreword;
	Promoting best practice among local authorities by hosting a seminar.

Shared Ownership Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared ownership completions there were in each region in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1540-42W. The new build Homebuy figures in the first table show the number of shared ownership completions in England, by region. These figures are only available annually, not by month.

Social Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households lived in social housing in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not readily available for the United Kingdom.
	Estimates of the number of households in England who were living in social housing in each year since 1997 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Households in social rented accommodation, England 1997 to 2008 
			   Number (Thousand) 
			 1997 4,170 
			 1998 4,148 
			 1999 4,072 
			 2000 3,953 
			 2001 3,983 
			 2002 3,972 
			 2003 3,804 
			 2004 3,797 
			 2005 3,696 
			 2006 3,736 
			 2007 3,755 
			 2008 3,797 
			  Source:  ONS Labour Force Survey

Social Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department plans to spend on providing social rented housing in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: In England, over the three years 2008 to 2011, we are investing over £8 billion in affordable housing through the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Around £6.5 billion of this will be directed towards social rented homes.
	We have not allocated specific funds in each of the next three years to allow full flexibility within the Affordable Housing programme operated by the HCA. This has allowed us to bring forward £550 million from 2010-11 into earlier years for social rented homes.
	Future levels of funds available for social rent and all affordable housing beyond 2010-11 will be dependent upon the next spending review.

Tenant Services Authority

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has allocated to the Tenant Services Authority in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: Indicative funding allocations for the Tenant Services Authority between 2009-11 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2009-10 35.623 
			 2010-11 35.173 
		
	
	This excludes any additional resources that may be allocated for specific initiatives at a later date. Following completion of the exercise to disaggregate the Housing Corporation spend, there was some late adjustments to the 2009-10 TSA budget. The £35.623 million is the latest position and this is reflected in the information submitted to the HM Treasury.
	Budget allocations for the period after 2010-11 will be set as part of the next comprehensive spending review. Final budgets will be agreed with the TSA on an annual basis.

Tenant Services Authority

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) dates and  (b) locations of the planned regional events to be hosted by the Tenants Service Authority during phase 1 of its National Conversation are.

Iain Wright: The National Conversation events organised by the TSA for tenants commenced in Leeds on 27 January and finished on 5 March in Bristol.
	The complete list of regional National Conversation events for tenants is as follows:
	
		
			   Date of event 
			 Leeds 27 January 
			 Manchester 3 February 
			 Birmingham 4 February 
			 Durham 5 February 
			 Leicester 11 February 
			 Cambridge 12 February 
			 Gatwick 24 February 
			 Twickenham 25 February 
			 London 26 February 
			 Plymouth 4 March 
			 Bristol 5 March 
		
	
	The TSA also hosted National Conversation events for landlords. A complete list of these is as follows:
	
		
			  Date  Venue  Location 
			 11 March 2009 Aston Villa Stadium Birmingham 
			 12 March 2009 Corn Exchange Exeter 
			 17 March 2009 Ramside Hall Durham 
			 18 March 2009 City of Manchester Stadium Manchester 
			 19 March 2009 Emirates Stadium London 
		
	
	Further information on the National Conversation can be found on the website at:
	http://www.nationalconversation.co.uk/Conversations.aspx

Tenant Services Authority

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Tenant Services Authority and other interested parties to agree timescales for the process for the inclusion of local authorities and arms-length management organisations in the revised regulatory regime for social housing.

Iain Wright: Section 114 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 allows the Secretary of State to make an order to bring local authorities within the Tenant Services Authority's regulatory regime. We intend to publish a draft order for consultation later this year. Following consideration of consultation responses we intend to lay an order and, subject to parliamentary approval, we expect that the TSA will be regulating local authority landlords from April 2010.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions where the Child Support Agency was not able to make deductions directly from non-resident parents' benefit due to technical difficulties in the last three years it was  (a) possible and  (b) not possible to establish why the technical fault occurred.

Kitty Ussher: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to how many occasions on which the Child Support Agency was not able to make deductions directly from non-resident parents' benefit due to technical difficulties in the last three years it was (a) possible and (b) not possible to establish why the technical fault occurred.
	In child maintenance cases where the non-resident parent is in receipt of state benefit, the Child Support Agency may issue a request to Jobcentre Plus to make a flat rate maintenance deduction from their benefits. This automated request may initially be rejected when the information the Child Support Agency holds differs from that held by Jobcentre Plus; for example, the benefits are now being administered by a different office from where the original request was sent, or the benefits are suspended pending a decision. These reasons are in fact administrative in nature and unfortunately are sometimes perceived to be and explained as technical issues. I understand that such a misunderstanding may have occurred in relation to a constituent's case, for which I apologise.
	In such cases, the revised request will often be accepted before affecting maintenance deductions, which are carried out bi-weekly in accordance with benefit payments. Therefore, even if a request to deduct maintenance is initially rejected for an administrative reason, this does not necessarily mean that the maintenance payment was not received by the parent-with-care on time. The Agency does not hold information on the number of rejections which resulted in a deduction being missed or the different reasons why a request may be rejected.0
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Absenteeism

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff of his Department were recorded absent for non-medical reasons on  (a) 2 February 2009 and  (b) 3 February 2009; what estimate he has made of the (i) cost to his Department and (ii) number of working hours lost as a result of such absence; and what guidance his Department issued to staff in respect of absence on those days.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of staff absent due to non-medical reasons is not held centrally. This is because it includes annual leave, flexi leave and special leave. Therefore, to provide the data for 2 and 3 February in respect of our total staffing of over 100,000 would incur disproportionate cost.
	In addition to the policies governing absence and leave, specific HR advice was issued to cover absences on 2 and 3 February due to the adverse weather. Where employees attempted to come into work but were unable to do so because of the adverse weather and travel disruption, they were credited with the hours normally worked on these days. Overall the Department is grateful to the very many of its staff who made considerable efforts to get into work on the days in question.

Departmental Official Engagements

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the official engagements of each Minister in his Department were between 1 February 2009 to 28 February 2009.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 12 March 2009
	I am depositing a table of information in the Library.
	Accurate information on the length of time spent on each engagement could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Postal Services

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many items of correspondence his Department sent  (a) by Royal Mail and  (b) by other commercial delivery services in each of the last two years; and what the reasons were for the use of services other than Royal Mail.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP postal volumes delivered by Royal Mail Group over the past two years were approximately 200 million items to customers (2008-09) and were approximately similar volumes in the previous financial year (2007-08).
	DWP postal volumes delivered by other postal providers over the same period are as follows:
	 UK Mail—volume 95 million items (2008-09) and 80 million items (2007-08) 2nd class postal output to DWP customers from DWP's regional delivery centres (RDCs) at Washington and Norcross sites.; the final mile is still delivered by Royal Mail;
	 Spring Global Mail—volume 2 million items (2008-09) and 1.9 million items (2007-08) for international mail to DWP customers.
	Since the liberalisation of the UK mail market in January 2006, the Department for Work and Pensions has taken the opportunity to source alternative suppliers (who must hold appropriate licences from Postcomm) to deliver UK postal services via Down Stream Access (DSA). The National Audit Office (NAO) also endorses the use of DSA across public sector postal requirements.
	DWP remains committed to using Royal Mail postal services and we have developed a range of joint initiatives to further enhance our relationship and deliver postal efficiencies. DWP is also monitoring the developing postal marketplace for best value for money opportunities for taxpayers

Departmental Press

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP was formed in June 2001 from Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment, including the Employment Service (ES). Information for the periods prior to June 2001 is not available.
	Information on the amount spent in each financial year from 2001 onwards is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Newspaper/magazine spend  Periodical spend 
			 2001-02 24,757.96 228,207.11 
			 2002-03 (1)— 314,328.85 
			 2003-04 (1)— 266,764.89 
			 2004-05 54,298.68 164,068.43 
			 2005-06 66,265.94 122,040.63 
			 2006-07 73,794.25 134,642.74 
			 2007-08 56,364.35 138,063.72 
			 (1 )Included in Periodical spend.

Departmental Surveys

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 534-5W, on departmental staff surveys, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's most recent staff survey results and the analysis of the results.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 20 March 2009
	The most recent DWP Survey results (January 2008) are already available in the House of Commons Library. All previous DWP surveys can be viewed on the following site under the heading 'The Way We Work':
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/resourcecentre/corporate-publications.asp
	Over 1,200 reports are produced for all the teams participating in the survey. Therefore these could be collated and placed in the Library only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on the renewal of the contracts of  (a) temporary and  (b) agency staff.

Jonathan R Shaw: Temporary staff may be recruited into the Department for Work and Pensions only for a maximum period of 39 weeks. Such appointments are renewed on an exceptional basis, up to a total period of employment not exceeding 12 months—as stipulated by the civil service recruitment code. Where the need is anticipated to be more than 39 weeks at the onset; recruitment should be through fair and open competition on fixed term or permanent appointments.
	Agency workers are engaged by the Department to fill identified skills gaps or to provide support not currently available. Such appointments should be short term and in response to specific business requirements. Controls are in place to ensure any renewal of contracts beyond six, or exceptionally 12, months can be authorised only at a very senior level. Agency workers are brought into the Department via interim personnel framework agreements.

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) staff and  (b) ministerial away days were organised by his Department in each of the last five years; and what the total cost was in each year.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions does not have a separate or identifiable account code in departmental finance records to distinguish expenditure on either staff or ministerial away days. To try and identify any such expenditure would incur a disproportionate amount of time and cost.
	Spending on staff away days is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, which is based on the principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. All spending on ministerial away days is made in accordance with the principles set out within Ministerial Guidance.

Disability Living Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Disabled People of 17 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 852-5, from what budget the funding for the extension of higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance will be drawn.

Jonathan R Shaw: The measure extending the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance to people who are severely visually impaired will not be introduced before April 2011. We are confident that by the date of its introduction the Department will have re-prioritised annually managed expenditure to ensure that funding is available.

Disability Living Allowance: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Tamworth constituency claimed disability living allowance in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: At August 2008, 4,940 people in Tamworth constituency were claiming disability living allowance.
	 Notes:
	1. Figure is rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Figure shows the number of people in receipt of the allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.
	3. This figure is published on the DWP website:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Disability Living Allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster were in receipt of disability living allowance in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance cases in payment in Barnsley and Doncaster local authority areas 
			   Barnsley  Doncaster 
			 August 1997 13,700 15,200 
			 August 1998 14,200 15,700 
			 August 1999 14,200 16,200 
			 August 2000 14,900 17,000 
			 August 2001 16,400 17,200 
			 August 2002 16,660 18,140 
			 August 2003 17,290 18,910 
			 August 2004 17,730 19,320 
			 August 2005 17,930 19,560 
			 August 2006 18,230 19,860 
			 August 2007 18,590 20,310 
			 August 2008 18,910 20,700 
			  Notes: 1. August 2002-08 figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Pre-August 2002 figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. There are no data available for disability living allowance in the WPLS before May 2002. 4. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  Sources: 1. August 2002-08: 100 per cent. work and pensions longitudinal study. 2. Pre-August 2002: 5 per cent. sample data adjusted to be consistent with 100 per cent. WPLS totals.

Employment and Support Allowance

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the new integrated disability employment support package being proposed to replace Work Preparation and Workstep will include a disability impact assessment.

Jonathan R Shaw: An Equality Impact Assessment was published in December 2008 on initiatives covered in the White Paper "Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future". This included a focus on disability in the new specialist disability programme replacing Workstep, Work Preparation and Job Introduction Scheme. The Equality Impact Assessment was published on-line, in December 2008, at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/raisingexpectations
	and is being kept under review.

Employment and Support Allowance

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving disability benefit in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency,  (b) the London Borough of Bexley and  (c) Greater London in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of people receiving disability living allowance and attendance allowance 
			Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency  Bexley local authority  London Government office region 
			  August 2004 Attendance allowance 1,720 4,370 121,700 
			  Disability living allowance 2,800 7,140 262,050 
			  
			  August 2005 Attendance allowance 1,780 4,560 124,750 
			  Disability living allowance 2,960 7,500 270,310 
			  
			  August 2006 Attendance allowance 1,790 4,640 127,800 
			  Disability living allowance 3,080 7,790 276,290 
			  
			  August 2007 Attendance allowance 1,860 4,840 130,400 
			  Disability living allowance 3,240 8,180 285,940 
			  
			  August 2008 Attendance allowance 1,960 5,100 133,680 
			  Disability living allowance 3,440 8,680 296,600 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  2. Figures show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  3. Figures are published on the DWP website at: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Incapacity Benefit: Employment Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether participation in welfare to work activities as part of the invest to save pathfinders for existing incapacity benefit claimants is compulsory;
	(2)  what the minimum level of expected participation will be for incapacity benefit claimants covered by the invest to save pathfinders.

Jonathan R Shaw: In the 'invest to save' pathfinders, we plan to provide support to existing incapacity benefits claimants once they have transferred to the employment and support allowance. Participation in activities such as work focused interviews and work-related activity will be mandatory for claimants in the Employment and Support Allowance Work-Related Activity Group.
	Consistent with the 'Progression to Work' model recommended in the Gregg Review, we expect that all claimants participating in the 'invest to save' pathfinders will:
	have an action plan;
	be required to undertake work-related activity; and
	have regular contact with their provider to ensure a minimum level of contact and engagement.
	Claimants placed in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group will not be required to undertake any mandatory activities, although they will be able to volunteer for back-to-work support.

Industrial Health and Safety: Sellafield

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Health and Safety Executive plans to take in respect of the delays in Sellafield Ltd meeting the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate's specifications on safety at legacy ponds and silos at the Sellafield site.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are three extant specifications (No's 324, 325 and 326) relating to Intermediate Level Waste stored in facilities in legacy ponds and silos at the Sellafield site.
	The specifications are worded in such a way that they require radioactive wastes to be removed from their current locations and placed in safer storage conditions by particular dates. HSE is monitoring progress towards these dates and its Nuclear Installations Inspectorate wrote to Sellafield Ltd. on 29 September 2008 seeking information to inform future enforcement decisions should the work not be completed by the due dates.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on the number of Jobcentre Plus benefit applicants or customers who are in receipt of food from foodbanks or other community or voluntary organisations.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 6 March 2009
	This information is not held centrally by DWP.

Members: Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Northavon of 28 April 2008, on behalf of Mr. Reg Morris, acknowledged with reference POS(3) 10854/0364.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 4 February 2009
	A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 17 March 2009.

Social Security Benefits

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed  (a) disability benefit and  (b) jobseeker's allowance in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance and attendance allowance cases in payment 
			   Disability living allowance  Attendance allowance 
			 August 1999 2,135,100 1,258,600 
			 August 2000 2,213,300 1,262,200 
			 August 2001 2,326,800 1,285,900 
			 August 2002 2,454,340 1,300,090 
			 August 2003 2,573,540 1,336,210 
			 August 2004 2,672,160 1,397,300 
			 August 2005 2,749,480 1,440,090 
			 August 2006 2,814,290 1,484,580 
			 August 2007 2,909,980 1,525,610 
			 August 2008 2,999,650 1,565,000 
			  Notes:  1. August 2002 to August 2008: 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  2. There are no data available for disability living allowance and attendance allowance in the WPLS before May 2002. Pre August 2002: 5 per cent. sample data rated up to be consistent with 100 per cent. WPLS totals. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  3. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  4. Figures may include a small number of cases where the recipient lives abroad.  5. Data are published at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate 
		
	
	
		
			  Jobseeker's allowance claimant count in the last 10 years—seasonally adjusted, Great Britain 
			   Claimant count 
			 August 1999 1,180,100 
			 August 2000 1,019,700 
			 August 2001 911,900 
			 August 2002 910,100 
			 August 2003 898,500 
			 August 2004 804,600 
			 August 2005 839,800 
			 August 2006 924,800 
			 August 2007 825,200 
			 August 2008 880,400 
			 February 2009 1,349,100 
			  Notes:  1. Data are seasonally adjusted and relates to claimants who are over 18 only.  2. Data have been rounded to the nearest 100.  3. Data are published at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk.  Source:  100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems.

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been in receipt of disability living allowance in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance cases in payment 
			   Jarrow parliamentary constituency  South Tyneside local authority  North East Government office region  Great Britain 
			 August 1997 4,300 8,200 134,000 1,982,900 
			 August 1998 4,400 8,300 139,600 2,073,400 
			 August 1999 4,300 8,200 141,600 2,145,300 
			 August 2000 4,500 8,800 144,900 2,223,800 
			 August 2001 4,800 9,300 151,100 2,337,900 
			 August 2002 5,030 9,280 152,850 2,452,290 
			 August 2003 5,140 9,490 156,120 2,571,470 
			 August 2004 5,200 9,650 157,890 2,669,970 
			 August 2005 5,310 9,780 159,000 2,747,100 
			 August 2006 5,420 10,010 160,810 2,811,890 
			 August 2007 5,580 10,340 165,710 2,907,650 
			 August 2008 5,730 10,660 170,170 2,996,820 
			  Notes:  1. August 2002 to August 2008: 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Some additional disclosure control has also been applied.  2. Pre August 2002: 5 per cent. sample data rated up to be consistent with 100 per cent. WPLS totals. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Some additional disclosure control has also been applied.  3. There are no data available for disability living allowance in the WPLS before May 2002. 4. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  Sources:  DWP Information Directorate.

State Retirement Pension

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the administrative costs of paying the state pension  (a) weekly and  (b) monthly.

Rosie Winterton: The precise information requested is not available.
	The cost of making payments to pensioners depends on the payment method they choose. The average costs of each payment method are:
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 Payment into a bank account 0.01 
			 Payment into a Post Office card account 0.80 
			 Payment by cheque 1.79 
			  Source:  Corporate Banking and Methods of Payment. 
		
	
	Making payments less frequently (four weekly, rather than weekly) would appear, on the face of it, to reduce the Department's payment costs as fewer payments would be made each year. It is not possible to say exactly what impact on costs this would have as it would depend on a variety of factors—including customer behaviour and third party charges.

TREASURY

Banks: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to his Department's press notice of 19 January 2009 on the Asset Protection Scheme, how performance against commitments to make loans to creditworthy institutions will be monitored; and what mechanisms will be used to report on such performance.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, column 417W, on business: credit, when negotiations with participating banks began; whether the specific and quantified lending commitments will be  (a) published and  (b) regularly monitored and reported; what the remit of the lending panel is; when it first met; what data it is monitoring; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: On 19 January, the Government announced measures designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system, to increase confidence and capacity to lend, and in turn to support the recovery of the economy. Further information is available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_05_09.htm
	These build on measures announced on 8 October last year.
	The Government are negotiating quantified lending agreements with the banks participating in the Asset Protection Scheme and extended Credit Guarantee Scheme as announced in January this year. The Chancellor of the Exchequer set out in his statement to Parliament on 26 February that Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed lending agreements with the Government. The Financial Secretary to the Treasury set out in his statement to Parliament on 9 March that Lloyds Banking Group has agreed lending agreements with the Government.
	The Government will report to Parliament annually on the delivery of these agreements.
	As announced in the 2008 pre-Budge report, the Government have established a new lending panel, which will improve monitoring of lending to households and businesses. The remit of the panel is set out in the 2008 pre-Budget report.

Banks: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the Asset Purchase Facility on the monetary value of the  (a) assets and  (b) liabilities of pension funds.

Ian Pearson: Asset purchases undertaken by the Bank of England will increase the flow of money within the economy. This will help to revive the flow of credit within the economy, encourage spending and support economic activity. A prosperous and stable economy is vital for pension funds to meet their obligations.
	To the extent that asset purchases by the Bank of England lead to movements in bond yields, this will affect the present value of pension funds liabilities, and also the present value of bonds and other assets held by the fund. The overall effect on an individual fund's financial position will depend on how closely the fund's assets and liabilities are matched in terms of their exposure to interest rate risk. This will vary across funds, reflecting differences in the composition of each fund's assets and liabilities.

Banks: Finance

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 100W, on banks, what the Government's principles on remuneration are, apart from the principle of no rewards for failure.

Ian Pearson: The Government have set out four basic principles to be applied to remuneration policies:
	Rewards for failure are not appropriate.
	Bonus payments should be based on long-term sustainable performance.
	Bonuses are not just about past performance but are designed to shape future performance and thus should be subject to appropriate claw back.
	The regulator is to take bank remuneration policy into account when supervising a bank.
	The Government are clear that going forward, remuneration policies must be based on long-term sustainable performance in the interests of shareholders, taking proper account of risk.

Child Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of tax credit claimants are entitled to the family element of child tax credit only.

Stephen Timms: Estimates of the number of families with tax credit awards, including those entitled to the family element of child tax credit only are published in table 2.1 of our provisional awards snapshot publication, "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics, December 2008". The publication is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-dec08.pdf

Child Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of people claiming child tax credit were under the age of 18 years in each year since its introduction; and how many and what proportion of this group claimed the lone parent element of child tax credit in each of those years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is available only at a disproportionate cost.
	However, estimates of the number of families in receipt of tax credit, including information on lone-parent families by age bands, are published in table 3.1 of the HMRC snapshot publications, "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics" as at 4 December of each year. The publications are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm

Departmental Bank Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with which banks his Department  (a) holds and  (b) has held contracts for the provision of financial advice, for the financial year 2008-09.

Angela Eagle: HM Treasury have contracted with the following banks for the provision of financial advice during the financial year 2008-09:
	Citigroup
	Credit Suisse
	Deutsche Bank
	Goldman Sachs
	Morgan Stanley.

Departmental Meetings

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings he attended on Wednesday 18 March 2009 between 1.30 pm and 4 pm; and who else was present at those meetings.

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers attend a wide range of meetings as part of carrying out their duties in line with the "Ministerial Code". As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department provide assistance to special advisers; and what the cost of employing such staff was in each of the last three years.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1891W.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Greg Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much expenditure was incurred in respect of the overseas visits  (a) he,  (b) other Treasury Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials of his Department undertook in 2008.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Ian Pearson), gave to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) on 12 March 2009,  Official Report, column 718W.

Equitable Life: Compensation

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in making compensation payments to Equitable Life policyholders; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Sir John Chadwick has begun the work the Government asked him to undertake on aspects of the ex gratia payments scheme for Equitable Life policyholders announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 15 January At this stage, it is not possible to determine how long it will take to make payments under the scheme. The Government will keep the House updated and report back on progress at regular intervals.

Income Tax

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the merits of reducing the basic rate of income tax to 16 per cent.

Stephen Timms: All taxpayers who pay any income tax at the basic rate would benefit. A reduction in the basic rate would result in a loss of tax revenue which can be approximated from table 1.6 'Direct effects of illustrative tax changes' on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-6.pdf
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response.
	There would need to be a corresponding reduction in income tax deducted at source on interest.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 322W, on hon. Members: correspondence, when he plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 21 November 2008 on the Derbyshire Building Society.

Ian Pearson: A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 322W, on hon. Members: correspondence, when the Financial Secretary plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of November 2008 concerning Kaupthing Bank.

Ian Pearson: A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 322W, on hon. Members: correspondence, when the Economic Secretary plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 23 October 2008 on the Government's decision to implement a financial support package for the banking industry.

Ian Pearson: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 322W, on hon. Members: correspondence, when the Economic Secretary plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 23 October 2008 on the merger between the Derbyshire and Nationwide Building Societies.

Ian Pearson: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the email from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 4 December 2008, on red diesel fuel.

Angela Eagle: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Mortgages

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value of guarantees made in respect of new mortgage lending was in the last six months for which figures are available.

Ian Pearson: The Government have not provided guarantees in respect of new mortgage lending.
	The Government have announced a comprehensive package designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system, to increase confidence and capacity to lend, and in turn to support the recovery of the economy. Details are available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_05_09.htm

Moscow

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many visits were made by staff of his Department to Moscow in the financial year 2007-08;
	(2)  how many visits were made by staff of his Department to Beijing in the financial year 2007-08.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury's accounting system does not hold travel information by destination but the Department's travel provider confirmed that staff made three visits to Beijing and one to Moscow in 2007-08. All visits by staff are undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

Revenue and Customs

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will establish a new range of contact points for the public for HM Revenue and Customs services in addition to existing helplines, co-located with other local and national information services.

Stephen Timms: Since December 2007, HMRC has co-located face to face advice services with six Jobcentre Plus branches, and two local authority offices. There are four further co-locations currently planned for 2009, three with local authorities and one with a Jobcentre Plus office. When an HMRC inquiry centre is relocated, the preferred option is to co-locate face to face services with central and local government departments, in line with the wider government service transformation agenda. Customers can also access HMRC information through the Directgov and Business Link websites.

Tax Allowances: Cultural Heritage

Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the arrangements are for access to each heritage  (a) property,  (b) object,  (c) group and  (d) collection in respect of which conditional relief from tax has been granted;
	(2)  when the database of tax-exempt heritage assets was last updated to include access arrangements; when he expects it next to be updated; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Details of the public access arrangements for land, buildings and chattels granted conditional exemption from tax are shown on a database on the HM Revenue and Customs Heritage website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/heritage/
	The website was last updated on 21 August 2008 and is expected to be updated again in April 2009.

Tax Credit Office: Costs

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the administration costs of the Tax Credit Office were in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs delivers tax credits through a number of its business units including tax credit office (TCO). For information relating to the full costs of managing and paying the child and working tax credits, I refer the hon. Member to the annual departmental trust statements published at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-dep-acct0708.pdf
	and the Comptroller and Auditor General's standard reports available at:
	www.nao.org.uk/publications.aspx
	TCO staffing costs for the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2003-04 61.28 
			 2004-05 73.74 
			 2005-06 61.86 
			 2006-07 (1)84.30 
			 2007-08 87.64 
			 (1) Staff costs increased from 2006-07 when operational support staff transferred to TCO.

Taxation: Arms Trade

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) monetary value and  (b) revenue to the Exchequer from taxation of British arms exports to Israel was in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: There are no export taxes, duties or levies in force on goods exported from the UK.
	The value of exports of military equipment to all destinations is published in the UK's Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports, which are available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/publications/annual-reports/export-controls1

Taxation: Overpayments

Robert Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) target time and  (b) average time taken was for the repayment of overpaid tax by HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: HMRC do not have a target time specifically for repayments of overpaid tax. HMRC do not hold information on time taken to repay overpaid taxes.

Taxation: Pensioners

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 11 February 2004,  Official Report, columns 1489-90W, on pensions (taxation), if he will estimate the number of pensioners paying income tax at the  (a) higher and  (b) basic rate in each year since 2001-02; and what percentage of (i) all pensioner taxpayers and (ii) all pensioners these figures represent in each year.

Ian Pearson: The information requested is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Higher rate taxpayers 
			   Number of pensioners paying HR income tax (Thousand)  Proportion of all pensioner taxpayers (Percentage)  Proportion of all pensioners (Percentage) 
			 2001-02 210 4 2 
			 2002-03 220 4 2 
			 2003-04 230 5 2 
			 2003-04 290 6 3 
			 2004-05 300 6 3 
			 2005-06 330 6 3 
			 2006-07 370 6 3 
			 2007-08 210 4 2 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-h igher rate taxpayers 
			   Number of pensioners paying  non- HR income tax (Thousand)  Proportion of all pensioner taxpayers (Percentage)  Proportion of all pensioners (Percentage) 
			 2001-02 4,570 96 42 
			 2002-03 4,700 96 43 
			 2003-04 4,470 95 41 
			 2003-04 4,830 95 43 
			 2004-05 4,790 94 43 
			 2005-06 5,250 94 46 
			 2006-07 5,420 94 47 
			 2007-08 4,570 96 42 
			  Notes: 1. Figures up to 2006-07 are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes in that year. 2. Figures for 2007-08 are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes in 2006-07 projected forward one year in line with pre-Budget 2008 report. 3. Figures for the number of pensioners paying income tax have been rounded to the nearest 10,000. 4. Pensioners have been defined as men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over. 5. All pensioners figures are mid-year population estimates supplied by the Office for National Statistics.

VAT: Clothing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects a decision to be taken on the possible inclusion of school uniforms in the list of goods and services on which reduced value added tax rates may be applied in Annex III of Directive 2006/112/EC.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1414W.

VAT: Stationery

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the savings which accrued to his Department as a result of the withdrawal of pre-paid envelopes for value added tax returns in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many pre-paid business reply envelopes for value added tax returns were issued in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what his estimate is of the number of businesses that used pre-paid business reply envelopes for value added tax returns in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: HMRC stopped issuing pre-paid business reply envelopes (BREs) with VAT returns and assessments (and for most other tax functions) from 1 October, when it introduced its National Direct Debit Service for payments.
	HMRC estimates that in the period 1 November 2008 to 28 February 2009, it achieved savings of £1,060,358 as a result of the withdrawal of pre-paid BREs, of which £170,000 related to pre-paid envelopes issued with VAT returns or assessments. It is not possible to disaggregate the savings on VAT returns from those on assessments.
	HMRC issued 19,538,704 VAT returns during the last three years, and approximately 47,500 assessments a year, and a business reply envelope would have been included with each up to 30 September 2008.
	HMRC does not keep a record of the number of businesses that use pre-paid BREs to submit their VAT returns.

Welfare Tax Credits: Death

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what procedure is followed by the Tax Credit Office in the recovery of tax credits paid in respect of claimants who have died;
	(2)  how much has been reclaimed from tax credits overpaid to deceased claimants in each year since tax credits were introduced; and what proportion of this sum was  (a) child tax credit and  (b) working tax credit;
	(3)  what the policy of the Tax Credit Office is on recovery of tax credits overpaid as a consequence of the death of a child included in the claim.

Stephen Timms: Tax Credit Office has a dedicated team to handle notifications of bereavement. Procedural guidance for HM Revenue and Customs processing staff can be found at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ntcmanual/changes_cofc/ntc0170482.htm
	Guidance for Debt Management staff is published at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/dmbmanual/DMBM555000.htm
	For information about HMRCs approach to recovering tax credits overpayments when a customer has died, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Jane Kennedy), gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 6 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1501W.
	For information about the amount of overpaid tax credits, attributable to deceased claimants, I refer the hon. Member to the answers my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy), gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 244W and on 10 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1786W. Information for 2007-08 will be available in May 2009.
	In order to allow bereaved families more time to notify the Department, HMRC pay child tax credit for up to eight weeks following the death of a child.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Tax Credit Office IT system records the reason for overpayment of tax credit awards.

Stephen Timms: The tax credits IT system does not have the facility to record the reason(s) why HMRC believe an overpayment has arisen.

Working Families Tax Credit

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in working families tax credit a family of two working adults with two children under the age of 15 years would receive in 2008-09 if the combined annual income of the adults was  (a) £20,000,  (b) £30,000,  (c) £40,000,  (d) £50,000 and  (e) £60,000.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to page 19 of the HMRC publication "WTC2—Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits—A Guide" which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc2.pdf

Working Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients of working tax credit do not claim the childcare element.

Stephen Timms: Latest estimates of the number of tax credit recipients, including those families receiving working tax credits, are available in Table 1.1 of the HMRC provisional awards snapshot publication, "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics" as at December 2008. Table 2.4 also gives the number of families benefiting from the child care element of working tax credit. The publication is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-dec08.pdf

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many local authorities did not meet the shielding policies deadline for ContactPoint of 13 March 2009.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 March 2009
	We continue to take a prudent and incremental approach to delivering ContactPoint. Local authorities have been doing preparatory work around shielding for several months, which included assessing how much time would be required to undertake initial shielding activity. We asked local authorities to provide a progress update by 13 March including whether they have robust arrangements in place to deal with shielding requests on an ongoing basis.
	Two-thirds of local authorities have reported, as part of this progress update, that they have undertaken the required shielding actions. We continue to work closely with local authorities in order to help them to complete this first phase as soon as possible.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what protocols his Department has put in place for records of details of adopted children on ContactPoint.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 March 2009
	In cases where a child's adoptive arrangement may be at risk or the child may be at risk of significant harm if their whereabouts was identified there is a facility to shield the ContactPoint record, i.e. to hide from view information relating to the whereabouts of the child. Shielding decisions should be made on a case by case basis and it would not be appropriate automatically to shield a ContactPoint record simply because a child was in the process of being adopted or had been adopted.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  when he plans to revise Working Together to Safeguard Children;
	(2)  when he expects revisions to the framework for serious case reviews to have been made;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take together with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Justice to establish explicit strategic priorities for the protection of children and young people;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing Lord Laming's recommendations on safeguarding children;
	(5)  with reference to page 65 of The Protection of Children in England: a progress report, HC330, what changes he plans to make to existing practice to ensure that serious case reviews focus on the effective learning of lessons and implementation of recommendations and the timely introduction of changes to protect children;
	(6)  with reference to page 16 of The Protection of Children in England: a progress report, HC330, what new statutory targets for safeguarding and child protection he plans to introduce.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 March 2009
	The Government have accepted all the recommendations made by Lord Laming in his recent report, 'The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report'. These include recommendations relating to the revision of statutory guidance in 'Working Together to Safeguard Children', strengthening the framework for serious case reviews, setting strategic priorities by Government for the protection of children and young people, and establishing new statutory targets for safeguarding and child protection. As confirmed in the Government's immediate response to Lord Laming on 12 March, the Government will publish a detailed action plan in response to all his recommendations by the end of April.

Children: Protection

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on steps they should take when pupils are found carrying a knife within school premises.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Although schools are generally safe places for pupils and staff, the Department has given head teachers a power to search, without consent, any pupil they suspect to be carrying a weapon. This increases the options available to schools, and we issued guidance in May 2007 which includes what to do when an illegal weapon is discovered: confiscating and storing the weapon, informing the police, and delivering the weapon to the police. (The guidance also advised on the existing power, announced in October 2006, to screen pupils at random.) Determining the appropriate sanction to apply is a matter for the head teacher, who has the power to permanently exclude pupils for carrying an offensive weapon, including if this is a first or 'one off' offence.

Departmental Surveys

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 549-50W, on departmental staff surveys, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's most recent staff survey results and the subsequent analysis.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Staff Survey results for the Department and other government departments are published on the Cabinet Office website
	(http://beta.civilservice.gov.uk/about/who/statistics/staff-surveys.aspx).
	I have arranged for copies from that website to be placed in the Library of the House.

National Curriculum Tests

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he plans to take to improve the results of children who were born in August in Key Stage 1.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In September 2008, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) became statutory for all Ofsted Registered Early Years settings and early years provision in schools. It contains a number of elements, focused around tailoring provision, to help summer born children reach their full potential.
	Furthermore, the Secretary of State has asked Sir Jim Rose to undertake a review of the primary curriculum. As part of his remit, Sir Jim will be looking at supporting better transition from EYFS to primary school, and considering personalised learning, both of which have shown to help summer-born children make a better start to school and learning. The final report and recommendations will be published this spring.

Parenting Contracts

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many parenting contracts under the Education Inspections Act 2006 have been entered into by schools;
	(2)  how many parenting orders have been issued under section 98 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department collects and publishes data on the use by local authorities of parenting contracts and parenting orders. Although we do not collect data directly from schools, we do ask local authorities to include data collected from schools in their returns to the Department. Local authorities are not asked to report separately on parenting contracts and parenting orders issued by schools and those they issue themselves.
	For the school academic year 2007/08 when the changes under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 came into force, the number of parenting contracts agreed by local authorities and schools with parents to tackle poor behaviour was 2,546.
	Use of parenting orders is intended to be a last resort, after local authorities and schools have used a wide range of strategies to address poor behaviour in schools such as voluntary parenting contracts for behaviour. To date, no local authority or school has applied to the courts for an order following a pupil's serious misbehaviour or exclusion from school.

Primary Education

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will commission research into the impact on children born in August of the resultant reduction in  (a) time spent at home with their parents,  (b) part-time pre-school provision and  (c) school time in their first year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There is currently no plan to commission research to look at the link between children born in August and the time they spend with their parents, at nursery, or at school. However, the Department has funded a number of projects that have looked at the impact of children's date of birth on their educational performance, and support children to make the transition between Early Years and Primary. These include:
	When You Are Born Matters: The Impact of Date of Birth on Child Cognitive Outcomes in England. Institute of Fiscal Studies (October, 2007);
	The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education project; and,
	The National Strategies Communication, Language and Literacy Development programme.
	As part of his independent review of the primary curriculum, Sir Jim Rose will be drawing on findings from these projects in his final report, on proposals to allow more choice and flexibility in start dates for children entering school.

Primary Education

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will take steps to allow parents of children born in August to move their children out of the cohort to delay their entry into reception class by up to one year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The remit for the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum, asks Sir Jim Rose to consider whether it would be appropriate to allow more choice and flexibility in start dates for children entering school. Ministers will give careful consideration to his final report and recommendations, which are due to be published this spring.

Pupils: Bullying

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many recorded instances of homophobic bullying there were in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each local education authority in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We are unable to provide figures for the number of homophobic bullying incidents in either primary or secondary schools as we do not collect these data centrally.
	We intend to introduce a new statutory duty on schools to record all incidents of bullying between pupils later this year, and will specifically consult on whether schools should be obliged to record homophobic bullying incidents and report these incidents to their local authority.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of  (a) the proportion of children receiving free school meals,  (b) the proportion of children of the relevant age obtaining five or more A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics in 2008 and  (c) proportion of children receiving free school meals and obtaining five or more A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is shown in the following table: this relates to 2008 and to state funded secondary schools (including local authority maintained secondary schools, CTCs and academies).
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Percentage of pupils in state funded secondary schools eligible for free school meals(1) 13.1 
			 Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 obtaining five or more A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics(2) 47.8 
			 Percentage of pupils receiving free school meals and at the end of Key Stage 4 obtaining five or more A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics(3) 23.5 
			 (1) The percentage of all pupils in state funded secondary schools known to be eligible for free school meals as at January 2008. Information is taken from SFR 09/2008: Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England: January 2008 (Provisional) (Table 2c) which can be found at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000786/index.shtml (2) The percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 who achieved five or more A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics in 2008. Information is taken from SFR 32/2008 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2007/08 (Table 12) which can be found at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000822/index.shtml (3) The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals who at the end of Key Stage 4 achieved five or more A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics in 2008. Information is taken from SFR 32/2008 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2007/08 (Table 12) which can be found at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000822/index.shtml

Special Educational Needs

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students in England have received a statement of special educational needs for each of the last 10 years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information can be found in Table 3a of the Statistical First Release 'Special Educational Needs in England: January 2008' and can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000794/index.shtml.

Special Educational Needs: Barnsley

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster have received a statement of special educational needs in each of the last 10 years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Number of pupils for whom statements of SEN were made for the first time 1997 to 2007—Barnsley and Doncaster local authority area, Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region, and England 
			   England  Yorkshire and the Humber  Barnsley  Doncaster 
			 1997 35,650 4,050 130 350 
			 1998 36,180 3,580 120 300 
			 1999 35,420 3,840 160 270 
			 2000 33,750 3,770 190 210 
			 2001 32,470 3,130 170 170 
			 2002 30,720 2,870 110 170 
			 2003 28,780 2,550 90 170 
			 2004 25,990 1,910 90 140 
			 2005 24,040 1,990 100 170 
			 2006 22,600 1,830 120 140 
			 2007 23,510 1,830 110 100 
			  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: SEN2 Survey 
		
	
	Figures for 2007, which is the latest year for which information is available, are contained within Table 18 of SFR 15/2008: Special Educational Needs in England: January 2008 which can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000794/index.shtml

Special Educational Needs: National Curriculum Tests

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of pupils  (a) in receipt of and  (b) not in receipt of free school meals who achieved level five in English, mathematics and science at Key Stage 2 in (a) 1997, (b) 2004 and (c) the latest year for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is not available for 1997 as prior to 2002 individual pupil characteristic information was not collected. The introduction of the pupil level annual school census (PLASC) in January 2002, which collects such information, meant that from 2002, pupil characteristic data could be matched to attainment data, allowing analyses of different groups of pupils.
	The 2004 information are shown as follows:
	
		
			   Eligible pupils  Number of pupils achieving level 5  
			   English  Maths  Science  English  Maths  Science  Number of pupils achieving level 5 in all three subjects 
			 Non-FSM 483,573 483,842 483,902 143,011 164,078 223,803 92,266 
			 FSM 105,452 105,537 105,583 11,864 15,074 23,202 5,871 
			 All pupil(1) 592,159 592,516 592,629 155,356 179,703 247,783 98,398 
		
	
	The 2007 information are shown as follows:
	
		
			   Eligible pupils  Number of pupils achieving level 5  
			   English  Maths  Science  English  Maths  Science  Number of pupils achieving level 5 in all three subjects 
			 Non-FSM 475,767 475,905 475,904 173,009 167,087 237,385 109,277 
			 FSM 93,197 93,218 93,249 13,989 14,295 24,699 6,787 
			 All pupil(1) 571,345 571,501 571,531 187,438 181,761 262,688 116,267 
			 (1) Includes pupils for which information was not sought or for which information was refused. 
		
	
	The above figures are based on 'final' KS2 data.
	The National Curriculum Assessments by Pupil Characteristics, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2004 can be found in SFR08/2005 at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000564/index.shtml
	The National Curriculum Assessments by Pupil Characteristics, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2006/07 can be found in SFR38/2007 at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml
	However, figures in SFR08/2005 and SFR38/2007 are based on provisional data and do not contain figures for pupils achieving level 5 in English, mathematics and science.

Specialist Schools

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list the schools in the most recent application round which were refused approval to operate as specialist schools, stating in each case  (a) the name of the school,  (b) the specialist status applied for and  (c) the percentage of students achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE including mathematics and English.

Jim Knight: The table provides details of the nine schools that applied in the most recent application round which were unsuccessful.
	
		
			  School Name  Proposed specialism  Percentage of students achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE including English and Mathematics 
			 Kilgarth School Business and Enterprise (1)— 
			 The Mailing School Combined Science and Sports 26 
			 Blessed Robert Johnson Catholic College Humanities 35 
			 The Causeway School Humanities 31 
			 The Robert Napier School Humanities 30 
			 Sheringham Woodfields School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 St Ann's School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 The Willoughby School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 Round Oak School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 (1 )Not applicable — special needs.

Specialist Schools

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list the 11 schools in the most recent application round which were approved to operate as specialist schools from September 2009, stating in each case  (a) the name of the school,  (b) the specialist status applied to it and  (c) the percentage of students achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE including mathematics and English.

Jim Knight: The following table provides details of the 11 successful schools that have been approved in the most recent application round and which will become operational from September 2009.
	
		
			  School name  Specialist status  Percentage of students achieving five GCSE A*-C  including English and m athematics 
			 Oak Lodge School Arts (1)— 
			 The Duston School Combined Business and Enterprise and Science 35 
			 Newman Catholic School Engineering 32 
			 Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School Humanities 67 
			 Hutton Church of England Grammar School Mathematics and Computing 73 
			 Putteridge High School Mathematics and Computing 44 
			 Branksome School Science 39 
			 Beaucroft Foundation School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 Castle Hill School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 Dee Banks School Special Educational Needs (1)— 
			 Methwold High School Sports 45 
			 (1) Not applicable—special school.

Teenage Pregnancy

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many girls under 16 years old became pregnant in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many women under 16 years became pregnant in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years. (264415)
	Available figures are estimates of the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth and/or stillbirth (a maternity) or a legal termination.
	Numbers of conceptions to women aged under 16 in England, the North East Government Office Region (GOR) and the Tees Valley district, for the years 1998- 2007 (the most recent year for which figures are available), are shown in the attached table. Figures for 2007 are provisional.
	Information on conceptions is not routinely published for parliamentary constituencies. Hence figures cannot be provided for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency because of the risk of disclosing individual's information, due to small differences between the parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries. Figures are instead provided for Middlesbrough UA and Redcar and Cleveland UA for 1998-2007, in the attached table.
	
		
			  Number of conceptions to women aged under 16 by selected area of usual residence, 1998 to 2007. 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 England 7,855 7,408 7,620 7,407 7,395 7,558 7,181 7,473 7,330 7,715 
			 North East GOR 570 499 522 460 460 498 481 481 475 531 
			 Tees Valley District 178 159 150 124 136 165 169 140 148 164 
			 Middlesbrough UA 56 49 39 25 36 47 36 32 33 35 
			 Redcar and Cleveland UA 41 38 37 32 28 28 54 27 23 31 
			  Note:  Figures for 2007 are provisional.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he plans to answer Question  (a) 243012,  (b) 243014,  (c) 243015,  (d) 243049,  (e) 243051 and  (f) 243053 on diabetes and schoolchildren, tabled on 9 December 2008; and what the reasons are for the time taken to answer.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: PQs 243012, 243014, 243015, 243049, 243051 and 243053 on diabetes and schoolchildren have been answered on 20 March. The reason for the delay was due to an administrative error.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Special Constables

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals she has to increase the number of recruits from businesses to serve as special constables.

Vernon Coaker: In August 2008, the Home Secretary announced a three-year, £2.25 million funding programme, for the National Policing Improvement Agency, to increase numbers of special constables in England and Wales, through the establishment of nine regional co-ordinators.
	These will utilise and develop further the existing Employer Supported Policing programmes, including ShopWatch.

Class A Drugs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce the supply of Class A drugs.

Alan Campbell: The importation of drugs is targeted through strengthened border controls, international co-operation, intelligence from a network of overseas liaison officers, and the use of detection technology.
	Within the UK, intelligence gathering, the use of new powers such as crack house closure orders, and the seizure of the assets of drug dealers are all used to reduce the supply of drugs.

Neighbourhood Policing Schemes

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing schemes.

Vernon Coaker: Thanks to Neighbourhood Policing every community in England and Wales now has its own team dedicated to working with the local community to tackle the issues that matter to local people.
	The Policing Pledge reinforces this offer. It guarantees national minimum standards of service, alongside a commitment to making Neighbourhood Policing teams accountable to the public through monthly public meetings and other public consultations.

Child Trafficking

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to prevent the trafficking of children; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Alongside robust policing, we are implementing the trafficking convention, improving identification and support to child victims, piloting an assessment tool for practitioners, and introducing a national referral mechanism from April.

Statistics

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the UK Statistics Authority on the preparation of statistical releases on matters within her Department's responsibility.

Phil Woolas: My independent Chief Statistician discusses any relevant professional statistical issues with the National Statistician who advises the UK Statistical Authority on such matters.

Border Security

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK border security arrangements in reducing crime and illegal migration.

Phil Woolas: We have taken significant steps to improve border security through the integration of immigration and customs functions in the formation of the UK Border Agency. Legislation, presently in another place, will complete this process.
	Increasingly close working between the agency and the police service will further enhance border security.

Online Crime Maps

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likely effects of online crime maps on levels of criminal activity.

Vernon Coaker: The provision of local crime maps is designed to strengthen Community Engagement and public confidence by ensuring that the public understand how crime is being tackled in their local area, what the local priorities are, who their local officers are and how they can get involved.
	All 43 forces in England and Wales delivered crime mapping by the start of the year, and the NPIA is now evaluating progress—but with a primary focus on ensuring that crime maps deliver for the public.

Antisocial Behaviour

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the mechanisms and powers used to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour.

Alan Campbell: Independent reports confirm the effectiveness of ASB tools and powers, including the National Audit Office report that two thirds of people stop committing ASB after a single intervention, rising to nine out of 10 after three.
	The British Crime Survey and Audit Commission Survey found that perceptions of ASB as a problem fell between 2003 and 2006.

Identity Information: Cross-Border Travel

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to track the identities of individuals entering and leaving the UK.

Phil Woolas: The e-Borders system will allow us to count people in and out of the country by screening all passenger and crew data against watch lists in advance of travel. This will help us to identify those persons, including serious criminals and terrorists, who pose a risk to the UK and take action where appropriate.
	These checks make up just one part if Britain's triple ring of security alongside fingerprint visas for three-quarters of the world's population and the roll-out of ID cards for foreign nationals locking them to one identity.

Departmental Spending

John Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effect of restricting to 1 per cent. the real terms growth of her Department's spending for 2009-10.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office budget for 2008-09 is £9.8 billion, and in 2009-10 it will rise to £10.1 billion, which represents real terms growth of 1.5 per cent. A growth in real terms of 1 per cent. would reduce the budget by £54 million.

Domestic Violence Victims

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of services for victims of domestic violence.

Alan Campbell: We continue to improve service provision by extending the network of specialist domestic violence courts, independent domestic violence advisers and multi-agency risk assessment conferences. We also continue to fund helplines supporting victims of domestic violence.
	In addition, the Violence Against Women and Girls Consultation includes specific questions about services available for victims of violence.

Trafficking of Women: Sexual Exploitation

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to reduce levels of trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.

Alan Campbell: We have in place a comprehensive victim-centred strategy to tackle human trafficking contained within the UK Action Plan, published in March 2008 and updated in July 2008. This contains 85 actions across four key areas of prevention; investigation enforcement and prosecution; assistance and support for adult victims of human trafficking and child trafficking.
	Human trafficking is a across-border crime. Internationally, we continue to work with our partners, especially the European Union and the United Nations to increase co-ordination and maintain a robust approach to the trafficking of women.
	We recognise also the need for more to be done within the UK to tackle the demand for prostitution, and to this end, we have introduced clauses into the Policing and Crime Bill to criminalise the purchase of sex with a woman who has been trafficked or is controlled for gain.

London Olympics: Security

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the level of security preparedness for the London 2012 Olympics.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's written statement to the House of 26 February, which sets out the Government's strategy for securing the 2012 Games and the positive progress made on security planning.

S and Marper: DNA Data

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response the Government plans to make to the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights on the retention of DNA data in the case of S and Marper.

Alan Campbell: The Home Secretary indicated in her speech to the Intellect Trade Association on 16 December 2008 that we will comply with the judgment.
	That remains our position and we will publish a public consultation paper before the summer on implementation of the Court's decision.

Cocaine

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce the supply of cocaine in the UK.

Alan Campbell: The Government's strategy to tackle the supply of all illegal drugs is to bear down on all points in the drug supply chain, to disrupt criminal gangs, stifle drug supply and reduce the harm caused to communities in the UK.
	The importation of drugs is targeted through strong border controls, including those operating in drug transit countries, international co-operation, intelligence from a network of overseas liaison officers, and the use of detection technology.
	Within the UK, innovative approaches to intelligence gathering, the use of new powers such as crack house closure orders, seizing more assets from drug dealers, and measures to prevent drug dealers from re-establishing their businesses are all used to reduce the supply of drugs. The extension of Neighbourhood Policing is also enabling the police to tackle the drug issues of concern to local communities, providing a visible local response.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department plans to take to monitor and tackle offences related to anti-Semitism; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: From April this year the Home Office will receive data within the annual data requirement which will cover all hate crime. This new system will enable us to identify the number of crimes reported due to an individual being targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, although it is currently not possible to break down the data by the specific ethnicity or religion of the victim. The Association of Chief Police Officers will be publishing shortly a refreshed version of their "Hate Crime: Delivering a Quality Service" which provides good practice examples and tactical guidance to officers dealing with these crimes at the front line.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent reports she has received on levels of anti-Semitism in each police force area in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: Separate data on levels of anti-Semitism are not centrally collated, although Home Office Ministers have discussed the issue on a regular basis with chief constables and key interest groups.

Asylum: Deportation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which  (a) countries and  (b) regions of countries the Government does not carry out forced removals of refused asylum seekers because of conflict or generalised violence which makes it unsafe for them to be returned.

Jacqui Smith: We do not accept that there is currently any country in the world where it is unsafe for returns to take place on a blanket basis because of conflict or generalised violence. Instead, all cases are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Asylum: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers  (a) were referred to the National Asylum Support Service and  (b) exited the National Asylum Support Service in each local authority area in the North East in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 18 March 2009
	The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) no longer exists, although its functions continue to be exercised by the UK Border Agency.
	Information on the number of asylum seekers that have applied for and exited support in each North East local authority area over a period is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Statistics on the numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support at the end of the quarter are published in tables 5 and 6 of the quarterly bulletin Control of Immigration; these statistics are broken down by Government office region and local authority.
	Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	Further breakdowns by parliamentary constituency are available from the Library of the House.

Asylum: Palestinians

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications her Department has received from  (a) individuals and  (b) families from (i) the Palestinian Territories and (ii) the Gaza Strip in each of the last (A) 12 months and (B) five years; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The requested information is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	However, information on the number of nationals from the Palestinian Territories that have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2008, broken down by main applicant and dependants have been provided in the table.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Statistics for the first quarter of 2009 will be available in May 2009 from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Asylum applications( 1)  received in the United Kingdom, 2004 to 2008, nationals from the Palestinian Territories 
			Of whom: 
			  Year/month  Total  Principal applicant  Dependant 
			  2004
			 Total 540 460 80 
			 
			  2005
			 Total 445 370 75 
			 
			  2006
			 Total 340 260 80 
			 
			  2007( p)
			 Total 480 425 55 
			 
			  2008( p)
			 January 30 30 — 
			 February 35 35 — 
			 March 35 25 10 
			 April 20 20 * 
			 May 20 20 — 
			 June 10 10 — 
			 July 30 25 5 
			 August 30 25 5 
			 September 25 20 5 
			 October 30 30 — 
			 November 25 25 — 
			 December 30 25 * 
			 Total 2008(p) 320 295 25 
			 (1) Provisional figures rounded to nearest 5, (— = 0, * = 1 or 2). Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions her Department has had with airline operators on the cost they will incur in modifying systems to comply with the data requirements under the e-Borders programme.

Phil Woolas: The e-Borders Programme has engaged with carriers from its inception, and continues to have ongoing consultations with the industry. A regulatory impact assessment was undertaken between August and October 2007, in which carriers had the opportunity to highlight the costs that would fall to them in connection with discharging their e-Borders obligations.
	The programme has developed a wide range of methods to enable the carriers to transmit data to the e-Borders system. These have been created to align, as far as possible, with industry standards and current data transmission methods.
	This allows carriers to continue to use systems already in use for transmitting data to other countries who collect passenger data, e.g. US and Spain, and has minimised the need to develop new systems.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of passenger movements she estimates will utilise full passenger name record data checks in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010,  (c) 2011,  (d) 2012,  (e) 2013 and  (f) 2014.

Phil Woolas: Other passenger information (OPI) is known in the airline industry as passenger name record data and relates to details collected for a carrier's own commercial purposes. It may include information such as passenger's name, address, telephone number, ticketing information and travel itinerary.
	There are currently no plans to collect OPI data for every passenger movement; however, it will be collected incrementally over five years to reach a maximum of 100 million passenger movements by the end of December 2013.
	Currently, e-Borders obtains and processes advance passenger information (API) provided by carriers. This includes details available from travel documents such as a passport and scheduled departure and arrival information.
	The e-Borders Programme remains on track to meet the milestone of capturing 60 per cent. (equivalent of 120 million passenger movements) of all passenger movements by December 2009.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the authority-to-carry element of the e-Borders programme.

Phil Woolas: The long-term vision of the UK Border Agency is to establish the capability to automatically deny authority to carry (ATC) at the point of check-in to certain categories of individuals seeking to travel to the UK. The e-Borders programme will provide the ATC capability.
	There will be a manual trial period to assess the benefits, impact and costs for the ATC capability. Following this trial, consideration will be given to the funding required.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the passenger name record element of the e-Borders programme.

Phil Woolas: The total cost of the other passenger information (OPI) element of the e-Borders contract is £89,025,118.

Departmental Data Protection

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times  (a) her Department and  (b) the UK Border Agency lost or misplaced databases containing data on (i) British citizens and (ii) foreign nationals in each year since 1997; and what information relating to how many people was held on each such database.

Phil Woolas: Since November 2007, any personal data losses are reported to the Information Commissioner. Home Office data is not available for earlier years.
	The Home Office has publicised details of personal data-related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its resource accounts published in August 2008. In the first half of 2008-09 a notification was made to the Information Commissioner regarding the PA Consulting data loss incident.
	The Identity and Passport Service has published details of the personal data-related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its annual report and accounts published on 26 June 2008. In the first half of 2008-09 no notifications were made to the Information Commissioner.
	The Criminal Records Bureau did not report any notification of loss or mishandling of any personal data to the Information Commissioner's Office for the period 2007-08 or for the first half of 2008-09.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department appointed a senior information risk owner in accordance with the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government and the accompanying document Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action; when the appointment was made; and what grade the person holds within the Department.

Phil Woolas: The senior information risk owner (SIRO) for the Home Office was appointed in April 2005. She is a board level director-general. The role fully accords with the recommendations contained in the report on Data Handling Procedures in Government published in June 2008.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of her Department's IT security hierarchy.

Phil Woolas: Information is a key asset to Government and its correct handling is vital to the delivery of public services and to the integrity of HMG. The Security Policy Framework, the Data Handling Report and the National Information Assurance Strategy produced by the Cabinet Office provide a strategic framework for protecting information that Government handle and put in place a set of mandatory measures which Departments must adhere to.
	It is not in the interest of the security of the Department, or that of the public, to disclose detailed information pertaining to electronic breaches of security of Department's IT systems. Disclosing such information would enable criminals and those who would attempt to cause disruptive threats to the Department to deduce how to conduct attacks and therefore potentially enhance their capability to carry out such attacks.

Detainees: Children

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been held in immigration removal centres for a period of more than  (a) two weeks,  (b) one month,  (c) two months and  (d) six months in 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The requested information is not held centrally and would be available through the detailed examination of individual case files only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table shows the numbers of children detained within the UK Border Agency detention estate solely under Immigration Act powers on a snapshot basis as at the last Saturday of each quarter of 2008, broken down by length of detention.
	National Statistics on children detained solely under Immigration Act powers on a snapshot basis are published quarterly. This information is published in tables 9-11 of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom bulletins which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	Children are detained only in the following limited circumstances: most usually, as part of a family group whose detention is considered necessary; exceptionally, when unaccompanied, while alternative care arrangements are made and normally just overnight; to facilitate supervised escort of an unaccompanied child, who is being removed, from his/her normal place of residence to the port where removal will take place—detention occurs only on the day of the planned removal to enable the child to be properly and safely escorted to his/her flight and/or to their destination; and in exceptional circumstances where it can be shown that an ex-foreign national prisoner aged under 18 poses a serious risk to the public and a decision to deport or remove him/her has been taken.
	The Government's stated policy on detention of families with children is set out in the 1998 White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum". In all cases there is a presumption in favour of temporary admission or temporary release and all reasonable alternatives to detention are considered before detention is authorised.
	
		
			  Children( 1)  recorded as being in detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, by length of detention as at the last Saturday of each quarter in 2008( 2,)( )( 3) 
			  Number of children( 1) 
			  Length of detention( 4,)( )( 5)  29 March  28 June  27 September  27 December 
			 Seven days or less 10 15 30 5 
			 Eight to 14 days * 5 * 15 
			 15 to 28 days 5 20 20 15 
			 29 days to less than two months 15 15 5 5 
			 Two months to less than three months 5 — — * 
			 Three months to less than four months — — — — 
			 Four months to less than six months — — — — 
			 Six months to less than one year — — — — 
			 One year or more — — — — 
			 Grand total 35 55 55 40 
			 (1) People recorded as being under 18 on the last Saturday of each quarter. These figures will overstate if any applicants aged 18 or over claim to be younger. (2) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (— = 0, * = 1 or 2), may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding and exclude persons detained in police cells, Prison Service establishments and those detained under both criminal and immigration powers. (3) Figures include dependants. (4) Relates to most recent period of sole detention. (5) Two months is defined as 61 days; four months is defined as 122 days; six months is defined as 182 days.

Domestic Violence: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of domestic violence in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland constituency have been reported to Cumbria Police in each year since 1997.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office has collected the number of recorded domestic violence incidents for police force areas since 2003-04, before that the figures were collated by HMIC.
	The figures for Cumbria police force are included in the following table, the data for Copeland constituency are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Recorded DV incidents in Cumbria 
			   Number 
			 2003-04 4,343 
			 2004-05 4,937 
			 2005-06 4,280 
			 2006-07 4,372 
			 2007-08 4,515

Drugs: Crime

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1279W, on drugs: crime, for what reasons the police do not record possession offences by drug type for drugs other than cannabis.

Jacqui Smith: Offence categorisations as used in police recorded crime have always been broader than those used in court proceedings and the detailed returns on cautioning. From 1 April 2004, it was agreed that recorded offences of cannabis possession be separated from other drug possession offences to better monitor the use of police powers to issue cannabis warnings. It has not been considered necessary to record more detailed breakdowns on other drug possession offences as overall detection rates for these offences are high.
	Information on court proceedings and cautioning give a good picture of the extent of other drug possession offences that come to the attention of the police by type of drug.

Dual Nationality

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many holders of British passports hold dual nationality, broken down by other nationality.

Shahid Malik: This information is not held centrally.

Entry Clearances: South Africa

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time for family reunion visas where the application has been made from a UK overseas mission in South Africa was in the latest period for which information is available.

Phil Woolas: UK Border Agency Customer Service Standards for processing settlement visa applications (which include family reunion applications) are to complete 95 per cent. of applications in not more than 12 weeks (60 working days) and 100 per cent. in not more 120 working days. Processing times for settlement visas at our Visa Application Centre in Pretoria in the last quarter of 2008 were as follows:
	
		
			  Settlement (Percentage)  Days 
			 57 5 
			 70 10 
			 81 15 
			 95 30 
			 100 60

Human Trafficking: Children

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to use biometric identification of children to identify those trafficked into the UK.

Phil Woolas: We are issuing identity cards for foreign nationals to children for the same purpose as adults. This is to provide more secure and reliable evidence of children's immigration status and identity. By requiring children to be subject to the biometric registration provisions we are also able to fix their identities. This will help tackle child trafficking, as well as making it harder for those intending to exploit a child's identity, for example, by placing a child into a family they claim to be theirs, for the purposes of fraudulently claiming public funds.
	We will request DNA evidence from the guardians or carers who present with unaccompanied asylum seeking children to establish the credibility of claimed relationships in an attempt to stop child trafficking. This evidence or a failure to provide it will form part of the information we send to the police and Children's (social) services where we suspect the child to be a trafficking victim. It can also be used as evidence towards an immigration application.

Illegal Immigrants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 818W, on illegal immigrants, what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) carried out by her Department on the likely number of illegal immigrants in the UK since the publication in 2001 of Home Office Online Report 29/05, Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 10 March 2009
	 The Home Office has not commissioned or carried out any further research on the likely number of illegal immigrants in the UK since the Home Office Online Report 29/05, "Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001" was published in 2005.
	We are determined to bear down on illegal immigration both on and after entry to the UK and as part of the Government's 10-point plan for delivery by 2010 over 95 per cent. of non-EEA foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country. This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, watch-list checks for all travellers before they arrive or depart from the UK and ID cards for foreign nationals.

Illegal Immigrants: Arrests

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many illegal immigrants were arrested in UK Border Agency operations conducted in  (a) care homes,  (b) hospitals,  (c) higher education institutions,  (d) schools and  (e) childcare facilities in 2008;
	(2)  how many illegal immigrants were arrested in UK Border Agency operations on restaurants in 2008.

Phil Woolas: The system on which the details of enforcement operations conducted by the UK Border Agency are recorded categorises the nature of the facility visited into one of several broad groups. Therefore, it is not possible to differentiate between hospitals and care homes without examination of individual records at disproportionate cost, as these are recorded together under one category (along with nursing homes); restaurants and takeaway food outlets are similarly categorised.
	In 2008 there were a total of 58 enforcement visits made to hospitals, care homes and nursing homes, as a result of which 96 arrests of immigration offenders were made. In the same period, a total of 12 visits were made to colleges, and 18 immigration offenders were arrested as a result. There were no enforcement visits made to schools or child care facilities in 2008.
	In 2008 there were a total of 1,685 enforcement visits made to restaurants and takeaway food outlets, as a result of which 3,168 arrests of immigration offenders were made.
	These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, and should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.

Illegal Immigrants: Deportation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures her Department has put in place for the deportation of illegal immigrants; what  (a) funding and  (b) other resources her Department has provided for such procedures in the last 12 months; how much on average it cost to deport an illegal immigrant in 2008; how many people are awaiting a decision on deportation from her Department; and to which country the most illegal immigrants have been deported in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The procedures the UK Border Agency has in place for the removal and deportation of all categories of immigration offenders are set out in the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance (EIG) manual available to view on the UK Border Agency website via the link below. Procedures for deportation can be found in chapters 11-15; illegal entrants at chapter 47 and those subject to administrative removal at chapters 50 and 51. This is a 'live' document which is subject to constant change.
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/enforcement/
	Appendix A of the UK Border Agency business plan for April 2008-March 2011 contains a table which shows the overall budget allocation and staffing plans for the agency for the current financial year. This document is available to view in the Library of the House and at the following website:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/businessplan/
	There are many staff involved, including seconded police officers, in the enforcement process across the UK Border Agency and the funding and other resources in place to support the removals process can not be disaggregated from the overall budget and resources. However, UK Border Agency plans for enforcing the immigrations laws including removing the most harmful first and the additional resources put in place to support enforcement and compliance activities are set out in the enforcement business plan, 'Enforcing the Deal', copies of which are available to view in the Library of the House and at the following web-link:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/enforcementbusinessplan08_09/enforcementbusinessplan08_09.pdf?view=Binary
	The UK Border Agency is not able to provide the average cost of a removal because there are many different factors which may or may not be involved in the cost of a case (such as detention costs, travel costs, and the cost of escorting the individual in question). We are therefore unable to disaggregate the specific costs and any attempt to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, the National Audit Office (NAO) gave a breakdown of what it costs to enforce the removal of a failed asylum seeker in appendix 2 of their report "Returning Failed Asylum applicants", published on 19 July 2005. In this they estimated the average cost of an enforced removal as being £11,000. This report has since been superseded by their report "Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency" which was published on 23 January 2009. This does not give a single average figure for the cost of removal but instead (on page 36 of the report) breaks it down into upper- and lower-end estimates for a range of people in different circumstances (for example, a single undetained adult who is removed after exhausting his/her appeal rights, the cost range given is between £7,900 and £17,000 excluding accommodation and support costs, and between £12,000 and £25,600 including accommodation and support costs). This report is available to view at the following website:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0809/management_of _asylum_appl.aspx
	There is no central pool of information on the numbers awaiting a removal/deportation decision on their case and this information could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.
	The destination country to which the most number of people were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK in 2008 was France; this includes non-asylum cases refused entry at port (including cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls) and subsequently removed. Excluding such cases, the destination country to which the most number of people were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK in 2008 was India. This is the latest 12 month period for which published statistics are available; the information is provisional.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK, broken down by destination, on a quarterly and annual basis. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Immigration

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will investigate the loss of correspondence regarding the case of Mrs Arwa Alansi, Home Office reference: R1145376 and CTS M17617/8 and the effect of that loss on the time taken to resolve the case; if she will take account of that delay in deciding on the timescale for potential removal action undertaken in the case; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: I will write to the right hon. Gentleman.

Immigration Controls: Freight

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to launch her Department's consultation on the authority-to-carry scheme.

Phil Woolas: The Government have committed to a full consultation period on the introduction of an Authority to Carry Scheme (ATC). This consultation period will be launched in due course following the completion of ongoing development work and initial discussions with stakeholders.
	The introduction of an ATC Scheme will only be brought forward for parliamentary approval, once the full 12 week consultation period with all stakeholders has taken place.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter dated 21 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on the All Party Dance Group.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 16 March 2009.

Police: Translation Services

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much her Department spent on reimbursing police forces for translation services in 2008;
	(2)  how much her Department spent on reimbursing police forces for the detention of illegal immigrants in 2008.

Phil Woolas: The following table sets out the recharge payments made to police forces in the last two financial years. Final costs for 2008-09 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Police detention costs 
			   £000 
			 2006-07 7,000 
			 2007-08 8,000 
		
	
	The figures above include translation costs. We are unable to split out these costs as they are included in the final invoice received from each force.

Sexual Offences

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the extent of under-recording of rape against women over the last 10 years.

Jacqui Smith: Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) provide guidance to police forces about how crime reported to the police should be recorded and detected. The HOCR were updated in 2004 to reflect changes made to legislation governing sexual offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This change in recording practice means that direct comparisons between reporting rates over the last 10 years cannot be made.

Sexual Offences: Forensic Science

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of rape complainants were offered a forensic examination in the last five years, broken down by  (a) police force area and  (b) rural/urban areas.

Jacqui Smith: The Home Office do not collect this information.

Standing Advisory Committees

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 185-6W, on standing advisory committees, how many current members of her Department's science advisory committee have taken part in projects in the capacity of key researcher.

Jacqui Smith: The Home Office do not centrally hold information about all the personnel involved in research projects it commissions.

Theft: Motor Vehicles

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of vehicles being stolen during  (a) robberies and  (b) domestic burglaries have been recorded by each police force in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: The available information is given in the following table. Statistics relating to the number of recorded offences of vehicles stolen during robberies or domestic burglaries are only available for 2007-08.
	These data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics. The data are provisional and may be subject to change.
	The Policing Green Paper announced that Sir David Normington, Permanent Secretary to the Home Office, would lead a review of the strategic data collection burden placed by the Home Office on police forces in England and Wales. Sir David's report was published on 16 February. As a result, the Home Office propose to cease the collection of data on vehicles stolen during robberies and domestic burglaries during Phase 2 between 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010.
	
		
			  Recorded offences of vehicles stolen in robberies and domestic burglaries, 2007 - 08 
			  Police force area  Stole n during  a robbery  Stolen during  a domestic  burglary 
			 Avon and Somerset 33 335 
			 Bedfordshire 26 248 
			 Cambridgeshire 52 138 
			 Cheshire 23 349 
			 Cleveland 1 27 
			 Cumbria 0 28 
			 Derbyshire 17 285 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 63 
			 Dorset 4 52 
			 Durham 1 81 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 25 
			 Essex 79 579 
			 Gloucestershire 5 96 
			 Greater Manchester 627 1,851 
			 Gwent 0 63 
			 Hampshire 23 159 
			 Hertfordshire 16 407 
			 Humberside n/a n/a 
			 Kent 37 278 
			 Lancashire 30 338 
			 Leicestershire 20 225 
			 Lincolnshire 2 90 
			 London, City of 0 0 
			 Merseyside 92 783 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,000 2,479 
			 Norfolk 1 16 
			 North Wales 6 63 
			 North Yorkshire 4 201 
			 Northamptonshire 27 310 
			 Northumbria 23 153 
			 Nottinghamshire 47 434 
			 South Wales n/a n/a 
			 South Yorkshire 45 605 
			 Staffordshire 32 252 
			 Suffolk 1 43 
			 Surrey 5 157 
			 Sussex 0 25 
			 Thames Valley 40 843 
			 Warwickshire 28 173 
			 West Mercia 12 178 
			 West Midlands 377 1,134 
			 West Yorkshire 112 2,113 
			 Wiltshire 4 62 
			 England and Wales 2,858 15,741 
			 n/a = Not available

Vetting

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will hold discussions with the Criminal Records Bureau to seek to improve the speed with which checks are undertaken.

Shahid Malik: The chief executive of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) meets regularly with Home Office Ministers to discuss the performance of the agency. The CRB works closely with all its data sources and stakeholders to deliver a fast and effective disclosure service.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Birth Certificates

Paul Rowen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many birth certificates did not include the name of the child's father in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for information on how many birth certificates did not include the name of the child's father in each of the last five years. (264348)
	The table below shows the number of live births in England and Wales that were registered solely by the mother from 2003 to 2007. The latest year for which figures are available is 2007.
	
		
			  Live births registered solely by the mother, England and Wales, 2003 - 07 
			   Sole registered live births  Sole registrations as percentage of all live births 
			 2003 44,875 7.2 
			 2004 45,372 7.1 
			 2005 45,170 7.0 
			 2006 45,455 6.8 
			 2007 45,701 6.6 
			  Source: FM1 Birth Statistics no.36, tables 1.1a and 3.9

Cancer: Barnsley

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster have been diagnosed with lung cancer in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster have been diagnosed with lung cancer in each of the last 10 years.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2006. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer for each year from 1997 to 2006 for (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster local authorities are in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer( 1) , persons: Barnsley and  Doncaster local authorities, 1997 to 2006 
			   Barnsley  Doncaster 
			 1997 196 232 
			 1998 208 241 
			 1999 171 236 
			 2000 205 264 
			 2001 183 233 
			 2002 169 270 
			 2003 184 256 
			 2004 178 244 
			 2005 189 256 
			 2006 188 267 
			 (1 )Lung cancer is coded to C34 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source:  Office for National Statistics

Cancer: Barnsley

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster have been diagnosed with breast cancer in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster have been diagnosed with breast cancer in each of the last 10 years. (264546)
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2006. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer for each year from 1997 to 2006 for (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster local authorities are in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer( 1) , persons: Barnsley and Doncaster local authorities, 1997 to 2006 
			   Barnsley  Doncaster 
			 1997 135 193 
			 1998 142 176 
			 1999 160 250 
			 2000 140 225 
			 2001 162 202 
			 2002 149 196 
			 2003 168 202 
			 2004 190 223 
			 2005 204 221 
			 2006 174 228 
			 (1) Breast cancer is coded to C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Children

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many families there were with  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three and  (d) four or more dependent children in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many families there were with (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more dependent children in each of the last 10 years. (264170)
	Estimates of the number of families with dependent children are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Table 1 shows figures for the UK for the last ten years.
	Figures for 2009 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of families with dependent children in the UK 
			  Thousand 
			   Number of dependent children in family  
			   One  Two  Three  Four or more  Total 
			 1997 3,071 2,947 986 319 7,323 
			 1998 3,102 2,976 966 317 7,361 
			 1999 3,135 3,001 932 322 7,389 
			 2000 3,063 2,992 986 303 7,344 
			 2001 3,143 3,003 919 308 7,374 
			 2002 3,170 2,991 927 293 7,381 
			 2003 3,130 3,018 904 298 7,349 
			 2004 3,213 3,031 886 276 7,405 
			 2005 3,378 2,932 883 266 7,458 
			 2006 3,346 2,961 877 272 7,456 
			 2007 3,382 2,941 874 271 7,468 
			 2008 3,432 2,911 878 266 7,488 
			  Source: Labour force survey household data, April to June quarters, not seasonally adjusted.

Colorectal Cancer

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many residents of  (a) Tamworth,  (b) Staffordshire and  (c) England were diagnosed with bowel cancer in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many residents of (a) Tamworth, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England were diagnosed with bowel cancer in each of the last 10 years.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2006. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer for each year from 1997 to 2006 for (a) Tamworth, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England are in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer( 1) , persons: Tamworth local authority, Staffordshire county, and England, 1997 to 2006 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Tamworth 25 39 30 31 35 25 26 30 45 35 
			 Staffordshire 450 537 501 497 472 479 531 518 544 510 
			 England 28,112 28,750 29,058 28,951 28,216 28,218 28,496 29,430 29,945 30,046 
			 (1) Bowel cancer is coded to C18-C20 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source: Office for National Statistics

Death: Drugs

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many drug-related deaths there were in  (a) North Wiltshire constituency,  (b) London and  (c) England in each year since 2000.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many drug-related deaths in (a) North Wiltshire constituency, (b) London and (c) England there were in each year since 2000. (264866)
	The table attached provides the numbers of deaths for which the underlying cause was drug poisoning, in North Wiltshire parliamentary constituency, London government office region and England, from 2000 to 2007 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths from drug poisoning( 1) , North Wiltshire parliamentary constituency, London government office region and England, 2000 to 2007( 2, 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   North Wiltshire  London  England 
			 2000 2 427 2,758 
			 2001 5 428 2,884 
			 2002 5 335 2,624 
			 2003 5 338 2,425 
			 2004 3 342 2,606 
			 2005 5 399 2,589 
			 2006 3 366 2,396 
			 2007 3 341 2,433 
			 (1 )Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for the year 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for 2001 onwards. Deaths were included where the underlying cause was due to drug poisoning (corresponding ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes are shown in Box 1 below). (2 )Based on boundaries as of 2009. (3 )Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 1. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes used to define drug-related poisoning deaths by underlying cause 
			  Description  ICD-9  ICD-10 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) 292, 304, 305 2-305.9 F11-F16, F18-F19 
			 Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances E850-E858 X40-X44 
			 Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances E950.0-E950.5 X60-X64 
			 Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances E962.0 X85 
			 Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent E980.0-E980.5 Y10-Y14

Departmental Buildings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for how many months each of the unoccupied ministerial residences in Admiralty House has been empty; and how much has been paid to date in  (a) utility bills and  (b) council tax in respect of each of those properties over that period.

Kevin Brennan: One flat has been vacant since 27 June 2007 and the other since 30 June 2006. Along with other shared costs, utility costs are calculated on the basis of a share of those for Admiralty House as a whole and are not held separately for individual flats. For the flat vacated in 2007 council tax to end March 2009 is £1,700 and for the other flat the cost is £3,153.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Cabinet Office has allocated for staff bonuses for staff in  (a) the Cabinet Office and  (b) the Prime Minister's Office in 2008-09.

Tom Watson: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	The amount of money allocated for non-consolidated variable pay awards for the Cabinet Office, based on performance in 2008-09 is yet to be determined.

Departmental Public Relations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much expenditure was incurred by the Prime Minister's Office in respect of media relations work undertaken between May and August 2007; on what matters such work was undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Byrne) gave to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 14 January 2009,  Official Report, column 750W.

Disabled: Barnsley

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many disabled people have been employed in  (a) Barnsley,  (b) Doncaster and  (c) South Yorkshire in the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people registered as disabled have been employed in (a) Barnsley, (b) Doncaster and (c) South Yorkshire in each of the last 10 years. (264544)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not compile estimates of the number of persons registered as disabled who were employed. As an alternative we have provided estimates of the number of persons resident in the areas specified, who identified themselves as having a limiting health problem lasting more than 12 months, and were employed.
	These estimates in Table 1 are from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) which follow the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of employment. Figures have been provided for periods up to June 2008 which is the latest period for which figures are available.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of disabled( 1)  persons in employment resident in Doncaster, Barnsley and South Yorkshire 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending  Doncaster  Barnsley  South Yorkshire 
			 February 1999 11 14 63 
			 February 2000 16 14 77 
			 February 2001 13 16 71 
			 February 2002 14 14 79 
			 February 2003 13 16 76 
			 February 2004 12 19 82 
			 March 2005 15 20 89 
			 March 2006 15 18 87 
			 March 2007 15 18 81 
			 March 2008 15 19 85 
			 June 2008(2) ***20 ***15 *87 
			 (1) Persons age 16+ who had a limiting health problem lasting more than 12 months. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 [le] CV<5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 [le] CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 [le] CV <20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV ≥ 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.  Source: Annual Population Survey and Annual Labour Force Survey.

Disabled: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people identifying themselves as disabled have been employed in  (a) the London Borough of Bexley and  (b) Greater London in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people identifying themselves as disabled have been employed in (a) the London Borough of Bexley and (b) Greater London in each of the last 10 years. (264973)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles estimates of the number of persons resident in the geographical areas specified, who identified themselves as having a limiting health problem lasting more than 12 months, and were employed.
	These estimates in Table 1 are from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) and follow the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of employment. Figures have been provided for periods up to June 2008 which is the latest period for which figures are available.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of disabled( 1)  persons in employment resident in Bexley and London 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending  Bexley  London 
			 February 1999 12 301 
			 February 2000 10 340 
			 February 2001 11 345 
			 February 2002 13 363 
			 February 2003 15 386 
			 February 2004 12 354 
			 March 2005 13 355 
			 March 2006 12 371 
			 March 2007 14 384 
			 March 2008 14 354 
			 June 2008 ***15 *375 
			 (1) Persons age 16+ who had a limiting health problem lasting more than 12 months.  Note: Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220  Key Coeffici ent  Statistical Robustness * 0 [le] CV<5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 [le] CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 [le] CV <20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes  Source: Annual Population Survey/Annual Labour Force Survey

Foreigners

Michael Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the number of non-EU nationals who have entered the UK since 2004.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to respond to your question concerning how many non-British EU nationals have entered the UK since 2004. (265300)
	Official estimates show that there were 640,000 international immigrants of non-British EU citizenship to the UK between 2004 and 2007.
	An international migrant is defined as someone who changes their country of usual residence for at least a year so that the country of destination effectively becomes the country of usual residence.
	
		
			  Migration by EU nationals, 2004 to 2007, United Kingdom 
			  Thousand 
			   European Union( 1)  European Union( 1)  15  European Union( 1)  A8 
			  Inflow
			 2004 128 75 53 
			 2005 149 70 76 
			 2006 167 71 92 
			 2007 197 79 112 
			 (1 )European Union estimates are for the EU25 (EU1S and A8 groupings plus Malta and Cyprus) from 2004 to 2006, and for the EU27 (EU25 plus Bulgaria and Romania) from 2007. Estimates are also shown separately for the EU15 (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden) and the A8 (the Czech Republic. Estonia. Hungary. Latvia. Lithuania. Poland. Slovakia and Slovenia).  Note: This table is published as table 2.01a on: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=15053  Source: International Passenger Survey, Home Office, Irish Central Statistics Office.

Government Departments: ICT

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate he has made of the number of external access points that exist between Government departments and agencies and external IT networks.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office provides access to one external IT network from its internal corporate IT network via the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) service. The GSI is an accredited network that enables over 200 Government Departments and agencies to communicate securely with other connected Government organisations. In order to meet the arrangements for connection to the GSI; Departments and agencies must give assurance that they meet relevant security policies and have external access controls in place.
	There can be a number of external access points to internal IT networks dependent on the business need of the particular Government Department or agency. Each Department is responsible for setting, implementing, recording and maintaining its own controls where applicable.

Government Departments: ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the lifetime cost-effectiveness of  (a) open source and  (b) proprietary software for Government IT procurements; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (Mr. Slaughter) on 24 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 592-93W. The Government seek to actively and fairly consider open source solutions alongside proprietary ones in making procurement decisions. The lifetime cost-effectiveness of open source or proprietary software depends on the individual circumstances of the business requirement. It is evaluated by Departments on a case-by-case basis to ensure overall best value for money for the taxpayer.
	The Open Source, Open Standards and Re-Use: Government Action Plan is available via the following link at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/government_it/open_source.aspx
	Copies are also available in the Libraries of the House.

Leukaemia

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people diagnosed with leukaemia there are in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people diagnosed with leukaemia there are in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency
	We do not have an estimate of how many people there are at any one time, but the numbers of new cases in the latest year for which figures are available for are for the year 2006. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia in 2006 in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency are in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia( 1) , persons: England, North-east government office region, Tees Valley District( 2) , and Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency( 3) , 2006 
			   Number 
			 England 6,025 
			 North-east 200 
			 Tees Valley 63 
			 Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland 10 
			 (1) Leukaemia is coded to C91 to C95 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  (2) Tees Valley is defined as the Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington local authorities.  (3) Based on boundaries as of 2007.   Source:  Office for National Statistics.

National Minimum Wage

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what his most recent estimate is of the number of workers receiving below the national minimum wage in each  (a) region and  (b) local authority area.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what the most recent estimate is of the number of workers receiving below the national minimum wage in each (a) region and (b) local authority area. (264509)
	Estimates for the number of jobs paid below the national minimum wage by Local Authority area are not available. However, I attach a table showing the number of jobs earning less than the national minimum wage by Government Office Region.
	A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837
	
		
			  Estimates of UK jobs paid below the national minimum wage by Government office region in 2008 
			   2008 
			  Government office region  Number (thousand)  Percentage 
			 North East **13 **1.2 
			 North West (including Merseyside) *27 *1.0 
			 Yorks and Humber *29 *1.4 
			 East Midlands *21 *1.2 
			 West Midlands *27 *1.2 
			 Eastern *30 *1.2 
			 London *21 *0.6 
			 South East *37 *1.0 
			 South West *23 *1.0 
			 Wales **16 **1.4 
			 Scotland *27 *1.1 
			 Northern Ireland *17 *2.3 
			 All 288 1.1 
			  Guide to quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.  Key: CV <= 5% * CV > 5% and <= 10% ** CV > 10% and <= 20%  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics. 2008

Redundancy: Barnsley

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been made redundant in  (a) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency,  (b) Barnsley and  (c) Doncaster in the last six months.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people have been made redundant in  (a) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency,  (b) Barnsley and  (c) Doncaster in the last six months, (264554)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for local areas from the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, this source does not support analysis of redundancies at these geographic levels.

Small Businesses: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many small and medium-sized enterprises are registered in  (a) Tamworth constituency and  (b) Staffordshire.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what estimate has been made of the number of small to medium- sized enterprises that were registered in (a) Tamworth constituency and (b) Staffordshire. (264529)
	Annual statistics on business size and location are available from the ONS release on UK Business: Activity, Size and Location. The table below contains the enterprise counts for 2008.
	
		
			  Count of Businesses 2008 
			   Employment size band  
			   0-49  50-249  250+  Total 
			 Tamworth constituency 3,150 45 15 3,210 
			 Staffordshire county 28,990 370 95 29,455

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Burma: EU External Trade

John Bercow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the volume of trade between Burma and the EU in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: Eurostat's databases give the following figures for European Union trade in goods with Burma:
	
		
			  Million euros 
			   EU 27 exports of goods to Burma  EU 27 imports of goods from Burma 
			 2006 81 306 
			 2007 164 263 
			 2008 105 184 
		
	
	
		
			  Million euros 
			   EU 27 exports of goods to Burma  EU 27 imports of goods from Burma 
			 2006 62 73 
			 2007 30 54 
		
	
	Data for trade in services for 2008 are not yet available.

Burma: Overseas Trade

John Bercow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the volume of trade between the UK and Burma was in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Gareth Thomas: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics data on recorded trade in goods with Burma are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of goods to Burma  UK imports of goods from Burma 
			 2007 4 28 
			 2008 4 36 
		
	
	ONS data published in the UK Balance of Payments Pink Book 2008 were:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of services to Burma  UK imports of services from Burma 
			 2007 34 1 
		
	
	Geographical estimates of trade in services in 2008 are likely to be published on 31 July.
	The UK Government discourage trade and investment with Burma. We offer no commercial services to companies wishing to trade with or invest in Burma. British companies who inquire about trade with Burma are informed of the grave political situation, the regime's atrocious record on human rights and the country's dire economic prospects.

Colombia: Overseas Trade

John Bercow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the volume of trade between the UK and Colombia was in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Gareth Thomas: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics data on recorded trade in goods with Columbia are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of goods to Columbia  UK imports of goods from Columbia 
			 2007 140 370 
			 2008 156 651 
		
	
	ONS data published in the UK Balance of Payments Pink Book 2008 were:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of services to Columbia  UK imports of services from Columbia 
			 2007 70 37 
		
	
	Geographical estimates of trade in services in 2008 are likely to be published on 31 July.

Consumers: Fees and Charges

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made as part of his consumer protection responsibilities of the merits of applying supplies of goods and services variable administration fees for consumers according to method of payment.

Gareth Thomas: The Government have not made any such assessment. The decision on whether to accept certain payment methods, and whether or not to charge a fee for accepting certain payment methods, is a commercial one for banks and retailers. However, in doing so, they must take account of legal obligations which are relevant to the giving of information about prices. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibit traders from engaging in unfair commercial practices which harm consumers' economic interests. In broad terms, commercial practices are acts or omissions by a trader directly connected to the supply of products to consumers. The giving of information about prices is one form of commercial practice.

Cost of Living

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to protect consumers from the effects of rises in the price of consumer commodities during the current economic situation.

Gareth Thomas: The Government take the view that their role is to facilitate competition by promoting open and competitive markets, enforced by strong and independent competition authorities, and empowered consumers, rather than to control directly the price setting behaviour of the firms.
	Hence, apart from a limited number of exceptions, no price controls operate in the UK and no restrictions are placed on the prices which business may charge consumers. Retailers are free to set their own prices, but they are required to display them in an unambiguous, easily identifiable way in order to enable consumers to compare prices in different outlets and so obtain the best value for money.
	Regulation may be necessary where competition is not working effectively or is not fully developed. Under UK competition law it is the responsibility of the Office of Fair Trading to investigate allegations of anti-competitive behaviour and possible abuses of market power.

Overseas Trade: Western Sahara

Mark Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what advice his Department issues to companies on undertaking business with concerns based in Western Sahara.

Gareth Thomas: The Government regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined pending a negotiated outcome providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. In this respect it continues to support fully the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to the Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, and the negotiation process currently underway.

Sudan: Overseas Trade

John Bercow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the volume of trade between the UK and Sudan was in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Gareth Thomas: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics data on recorded trade in goods with Sudan are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of goods to Sudan  UK imports of goods from Sudan 
			 2007 115 21 
			 2008 142 5 
		
	
	ONS data published in the UK Balance of Payments Pink Book 2008 were:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of services to Sudan  UK imports of services from Sudan 
			 2007 35 35 
		
	
	Geographical estimates of trade in services in 2008 are likely to be published on 31 July.

United Arab Emirates: Debts

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the debt owed to British companies by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

Gareth Thomas: We have made no estimate of the debt owed to British companies by the Government of the United Arab Emirates.

Uzbekistan: Overseas Trade

John Bercow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the volume of trade between the UK and Uzbekistan was in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Gareth Thomas: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics data on recorded trade in goods with Uzbekistan are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of goods to Uzbekistan  UK imports of goods from Uzbekistan 
			 2007 37 42 
			 2008 27 29 
		
	
	ONS data published in the UK Balance of Payments Pink Book 2008 were:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of  services  to Uzbekistan  UK imports of  services  from Uzbekistan 
			 2007 16 11 
		
	
	Geographical estimates of trade in services in 2008 are likely to be published on 31 July.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Finance

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of the withdrawal of funding for equivalent or lower qualifications students taking courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects on levels of fees for such courses.

David Lammy: Science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects continue to attract institutional funding when studied as an equivalent or lower qualification. Therefore, there need be no change in the level of fees charged for these courses as a result of our decision to redistribute some of the funding from those who have already benefited from higher education to first time entrants.

Apprentices

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what consideration he is giving to reviewing the period of time available to a college to find a new placement for an apprentice who loses the job to which the apprenticeship is related.

Si�n Simon: When an apprentice is made redundant, the first option that training providers and the National Apprenticeship Service will explore is finding immediate alternative employment. We recognise that the current economic climate can make it even more challenging to find a new employer place. We have agreed new flexibilities to allow apprentices who cannot find immediate alternative employment to move into full-time further education for up to six months while maintaining their existing apprenticeship framework and maintaining their status as an apprentice. The Learning and Skills Council have advised providers of this new flexibility which allows redundant apprentices to maintain their framework for an extended period while they and their provider seek a new employer.

Departmental Manpower

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) permanent,  (b) agency and  (c) temporary staff on contracts of (i) up to three months, (ii) between three and six months, (iii) between six and 12 months and (iv) 12 months or more there are in each directorate of his Department.

Si�n Simon: Information on lengths of contract is not held electronically and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Permanent staff on fixed term appointments will typically be on contracts of more than 12 months. Temporary staff are on contracts of up to 12 months. Length of contracts for agency workers will vary and depend on business need. The latest information on staff numbers in each directorate employed on a permanent, temporary or agency contract is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Directorate  Permanent  Agency  Temporary 
			 Business Operations 18   
			 Change Programme 22  1 
			 Finance and Performance 13   
			 Further Education and Skills Directorate 302 2 2 
			 GO Science 76   
			 Government Skills 26   
			 HE Directorate 145 1  
			 HR 14  1 
			 Innovation Directorate 74   
			 Private Office 52 5 4 
			 Science and Research 80   
			 Strategy and Comms 46 1

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2097W, on departmental recruitment, what estimate he has made of the annual salary cost of  (a) permanent,  (b) temporary and  (c) agency staff recruited by his Department in each year since 2005-06.

Si�n Simon: The Department was created on 28 June 2007. Since it was established, the estimated annual salary cost of new recruits and agency costs are as follows:
	
		
			   
			   Total new recruits (permanent and temporary)  Agency 
			 2007-08(1) 1,074,421 124,296 
			 2008-09 1,365,124 137,402 
			 (1 )From 28 June 2007.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his Department's policy is on the renewal of the contracts of  (a) temporary and  (b) agency staff.

Si�n Simon: The recruitment of temporary staff is governed by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Code.
	The Department's general policy is to use its own staff to cover any unfilled posts on a temporary basis. Temporary staff are normally only engaged where specific skills or expertise are required. External agency staff are used for short-term placements, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Education

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of 18 to 24 year-olds in  (a) Bexley,  (b) London and  (c) England were in full-time education in each year since 1997.

Si�n Simon: Table 1 shows the number of 18 to 24 year-old Further Education learners in Bexley local authority, London region and England from 2003-04 to 2007-08 by mode of delivery.
	
		
			  Table : Number of 18 to  24 year -  old Further Education learners, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  Area  Mode of  d elivery  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Bexley local authority Full-time Full-year 610 650 690 740 760 
			  Full-time Part-year 200 100 100 100 100 
			  Total 800 800 800 800 800 
			
			 London region Full-time Full-year 33,000 34,800 35,600 37,300 38,600 
			  Full-time Part-year 8,300 7,900 6,900 5,900 5,300 
			  Total 41,300 42,700 42,400 43,100 43,800 
			
			 England Full-time Full-year 161,200 166,800 170,300 186,700 193,100 
			  Full-time Part-year 47,100 43,000 35,700 30,500 30,100 
			  Total 208,300 209,800 206,000 217,200 223,300 
			
			 Other Full-time Full-year 2,800 2,600 2,400 2,600 2,800 
			  Full-time Part-year 1,700 1,900 1,400 1,100 1,000 
			  Total 4,400 4,500 3,700 3,700 3,800 
			
			 Total (England and other) Full-time Full-year 164,000 169,400 172,700 189,300 195,900 
			  Full-time Part-year 48,800 44,900 37,000 31,600 31,200 
			  Total 212,700 214,300 209,700 220,900 227,100 
			  Source:  Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of 18 to 24 year-old Work Based Learning and Train to Gain starts in Bexley local authority, London region and England from 2003-04 to 2007-08.
	
		
			  Table 2:  Number of 18 to  24 year - old Work Based Learning and Train to Gain starts, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  Area  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Bexley Local Authority 300 320 300 370 550 
			 London region 19,700 18,300 17,900 35,000 65,100 
			 England 124,700 102,100 102,800 127,100 160,600 
			 Other 2,600 1,900 1,600 2,400 3,800 
			 Total (England and Other) 127,300 104,000 104,300 129,500 164,400 
			  Notes: 1. Bexley local authority numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, all other numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Learner numbers are shown for provision funded through the FE budget. 3. Number of starts include Work Based Learning and Train to Gain data. 4. Train to Gain was launched in April 2006, so comparable data do not exist for 2003-04 and 2004-05. 5. The field for delivery mode is not mandatory in the Individualised Learner Record collection for Work Based Learning and Train to Gain. Therefore we have provided starts information for contextual purposes. 6. This table uses programme starts as a measure for comparative purposes. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of starts at any point during the year Learners starting more than one course will appear more than once. 7. Area is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Where the postcode is outside of England, learners are included in the 'Other' category. Where postcode is not known this is also included in the 'Other' category.  Source:  WBL and TtG Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Table 3 shows the number of 18 to 24 year-old Higher Education enrolments in Bexley local authority, London region, and England from 1997-98 to 2007-08.
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of 18 to 24 year-old Higher Education enrolments, 1997-98 to 2007-08 
			  Area  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Bexley LA 2,115 2,265 2,215 2,395 2,450 2,655 2,825 2,920 3,035 3,165 3,365 
			 London 93,925 100,370 102,345 107,600 113,710 119,925 123,740 128,330 132,905 138,110 142,240 
			 England 596,530 613,805 623,120 635,105 657,685 683,355 698,870 708,825 731,195 741,265 758,760 
			 Other 135,925 137,260 137,660 140,490 143,390 154,770 165,305 171,895 176,575 182,130 190,135 
			 Total (England and Other) 732,455 751,065 760,780 775,595 801,075 838,130 864,175 880,720 907,765 923,390 948,900 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are on a snapshot basis as at the 1 December and have been rounded to the nearest five. 2. Local Authority, and Government Office Region is defined by full and valid postcodes only. 3. London figures for the 1997-98 academic year refer to Greater London. 4. Students in the 'England' category are defined as domiciled in England. 5. Students in the 'Other' category are defined as studying at English Higher Education Institutions but domiciled outside of England.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Liverpool University

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  if he will assess the effect on access to courses in  (a) politics,  (b) communications studies and  (c) other courses in social and environmental degree subjects in the North West of the decision by the university of Liverpool to cease support for courses in social and environmental studies; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will assess the effectiveness in encouraging political engagement of the parliamentary attachment schemes of  (a) the School of Politics and Communication Studies of the University of Liverpool and  (b) other university politics departments.

David Lammy: Parliament decided in passing the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 that universities should be autonomous and that Ministers should have no role in deciding how individual subjects and courses are funded. This independence is a great strength of our world class sector. But it also means that judgments have to be made by universities themselves in developing their own priorities and sense of mission.

Liverpool University

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent assessment the Higher Education and Funding Council for England has made of the quality of teaching provided by the School of Politics and Communications Studies at the University of Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Higher Education Funding Council for England has made no recent assessment of the teaching provided by the School of Politics and Communications Studies at the University of Liverpool.

Unemployed: North East

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of each age group were not in education, employment and training in each local education authority area in the North East region in each of the last five years; and what variation from the average for all English regions each represents.

Si�n Simon: The tables show the number and percentages of 16 to 18, 19 to 39 and 40 to 59-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) for local authorities in the North East. Figures for 16 to 18-year-olds are from the Client Caseload Information System (CCIS) maintained by Connexions services. Local authority level information is only available from 2006 onwards. NEET figures for 2008 are due to be made available on 26 March.
	Details for 19 to 39 and 40 to 59-year-olds are from the Annual Population Survey. These wide age ranges are required to give larger sample sizes for each local authority, giving more robust estimates.
	
		
			  16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training 
			   NEET 
			   N umber( 1,)( )( 2)  Percentage 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007 
			 County Durham 2,060 1,670 12.9 10.4 
			 Northumberland 980 790 10.0 8.1 
			 Darlington 330 370 6.7 7.5 
			 Stockton-on- Tees 610 590 9.9 9.5 
			 Middlesbrough 870 690 13.7 11.1 
			 Hartlepool 400 300 11.1 8.5 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 610 600 11.9 12.1 
			 Sunderland 1,320 1,260 13.3 12.8 
			 Gateshead 750 640 12.3 10.4 
			 Newcastle 1,120 1,140 9.4 9.3 
			 North Tyneside 700 530 11.4 8.8 
			 South Tyneside 550 510 11.3 10.6 
			 North East 10,300 9,120 11.3 10.0 
			 England 126,150 109,300 7.7 6.7 
			 (1) 16 to 18-year-olds known to be undertaking a gap year, or in custody, are not recorded by Connexions as NEET. (2) The percentage and number NEET has been adjusted to assume that a proportion of young people whose current activity is not known are NEET.  Source: Client Caseload Information System (CCIS) 
		
	
	
		
			  19 to 39-year- olds not in education, employment or training 
			   NEET 
			   Number  Percentage 
			  19-39  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Gateshead 8,000 9,000 10,000 11,000 10,000 15 17 20 22 20 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 13,000 15,000 15,000 16,000 12,000 16 17 17 17 14 
			 North Tyneside 7,000 8,000 7,000 7,000 8,000 15 14 14 14 15 
			 South Tyneside 9,000 9,000 9,000 9,000 7,000 21 23 22 24 20 
			 Sunderland 16,000 13,000 14,000 11,000 14,000 22 19 19 15 19 
			 Hartlepool 7,000 6,000 5,000 6,000 5,000 25 26 22 23 22 
			 Middlesbrough 10,000 9,000 7,000 7,000 8,000 25 24 19 20 21 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 8,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 7,000 23 18 19 19 21 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 11,000 10,000 11,000 9,000 9,000 22 21 21 17 17 
			 Durham 30,000 25,000 31,000 24,000 18,000 25 19 24 19 14 
			 Darlington 4,000 3,000 4,000 4,000 5,000 13 13 15 15 19 
			 Northumberland 10,000 12,000 11,000 12,000 11,000 14 17 15 17 17 
			 North East 134,000 125,000 130,000 122,000 115,000 20 19 19 18 17 
			 England 2,245,000 2,217,000 2,265,000 2,271,000 2,245,000 16 16 16 16 16 
			  Note: Academic age 19 was used as a lower bound, which is the respondent's age at the preceding 31 August.  Source: Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  40 to 59-year- olds not in education, employment or training 
			   NEET 
			   Number  Percentage 
			  40-59  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Gateshead 13,000 13,000 13,000 13,000 13,000 26 27 25 25 24 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 18,000 18,000 16,000 16,000 17,000 27 28 25 26 26 
			 North Tyneside 12,000 12,000 13,000 13,000 12,000 24 23 23 23 21 
			 South Tyneside 11,000 11,000 11,000 12,000 10,000 30 28 26 28 24 
			 Sunderland 24,000 24,000 22,000 24,000 20,000 30 29 27 29 25 
			 Hartlepool 7,000 7,000 8,000 7,000 7,000 31 30 30 29 28 
			 Middlesbrough 10,000 10,000 11,000 10,000 10,000 28 28 30 28 25 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 12,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 9,000 30 26 25 26 24 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 12,000 11,000 9,000 10,000 12,000 24 22 18 19 23 
			 Durham 40,000 38,000 34,000 33,000 35,000 29 27 24 23 24 
			 Darlington 6,000 5,000 6,000 5,000 5,000 24 20 22 18 18 
			 Northumberland 19,000 20,000 19,000 21,000 16,000 21 21 20 22 17 
			 North East 186,000 180,000 171,000 175,000 164,000 27 26 24 25 23 
			 England 2,627,000 2,617,000 2,557,000 2,612,000 2,591,000 20 20 19 19 19 
			  Source: Annual Population Survey

Vocational Training: ICT

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to improve access to IT training in Kent Thameside.

Si�n Simon: The Government recognise that information communication and technology (ICT) training has a major role to play in helping to deliver our ambition to become a world leader in skills. With regard to ICT user skills, the recent publication Skills for Life: Changing Lives outlines how DIUS is considering with partners the development of a national strategy for ICT as a skill for life. More details will be provided shortly when the Informal Adult Learning White Paper is published. Plans for the development of digital skills more widely are being prepared with advice from sector skills councils following publication of Digital Britain: The Interim Report in January 2009 and will be presented in the final report to be published by the summer.
	With regard to Kent Thameside more specifically, it is recognised that a mismatch between skills and opportunities could be a significant potential barrier to local regeneration. The Kent Thameside Regeneration Framework has a specific objective to raise the standards of learning and skills.
	IT training will play a critical part in up-skilling local residents to take advantage of the opportunities that will become available through regeneration. There is a range of projects located in local communities across Kent Thameside aimed at raising the skills of local people. The Gateway Knowledge Alliance is part of a partnership delivering targeted IT provision with Learn IT to unemployed learners in deprived communities. It is also working as part of Employ North Kent on a SEEDA funded initiative. Starting from April 2009, the project will involve jobs-matching and the delivery of suitable courses that have been identified, which could include IT. In Dartford, a new state-of-the-art adult education centre was officially opened in February. The centre includes a new IT suite and aims to allow adults to gain the skills that employers are looking for, particularly during this economic downturn. There has been a big uptake in the number of people taking part in courses for the key employability skills of maths, IT and basic English. In Dartford alone, there has been a 20 per cent. increase in the number of people enrolling on these courses since September.

Young People: Unemployment

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his most recent assessment is of the effect of the recession on the number of 18 to 24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 17 March 2009
	 Data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) suggest that the employment rates for 18 to 24-year-olds not in full-time education have fallen slightly faster than for other age groups. However, it is too early to say that young people are or will be disproportionately affected by the current downturn, and the data may be affected by sample size fluctuations.
	Over the last year increases in ILO unemployment have been spread quite evenly across different age groups. The claimant count, which tends to be more reliable than the LFS for looking at short-term economic trends, shows that the rise in inflows to job seeker's allowance (JSA) has also been spread evenly by age.
	There has been an increase in the percentage of 18 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training from 2007 to 2008, from 14.6 per cent. to 15.6 per cent., however due to the small samples involved, this is likely to include some degree of sampling error.

HEALTH

Antidepressants: Children

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged under 16 years old were prescribed anti-depressant medication in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Arthritis: Waiting Lists

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking in respect of waiting times for follow-up treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Ann Keen: Clinical priority is, and remains, the main determinant of when patients should be treated. We have repeatedly stated that those patients who are in greatest need should continue to be treated first. Good waiting list management is based on treating clinically urgent patients urgently and all other patients in turn chronologically. Working with their lead commissioner, primary care trusts need to ensure they have the necessary capacity in place to support this.

Baby Care Units: Nurses

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average annual salary is of a neonatal nurse employed by the NHS in England; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: It is not possible to identify from central data the average annual salary of a neonatal nurse employed by the national health service in England. The role of a neonatal nurse can vary locally and any particular role would need to be job evaluated, based on the demands of the job. From 1 April 2009 under Agenda for Change, the terms and conditions on which neonatal nurses are employed, salaries can range from Band 5 for a newly qualified nurse (20,710 minimum) to Band 9 for a nurse/midwife consultant higher level (95,333 maximum).

Dementia

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable he has set for implementation of his Department's commitments contained in the National Dementia Strategy.

Phil Hope: The impact assessment for the National Dementia Strategy assumes implementation of the strategy over a five year period.
	The decisions about implementation of the Department's commitments in the National Dementia Strategy will be taken during 2009-10.

Departmental Buildings

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what properties  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) NHS trusts have sold in each of the last five years; and how many have been sold for housing developments.

Ben Bradshaw: Details of the larger properties sold by the Department in each of the last five years are provided in the following table. While it will be up to the purchaser to decide on the future use of the properties, information is provided where it is considered the properties may be developed for housing. No properties were sold by the Department's agencies during this period. Information is not held centrally in respect of properties sold by national health service trusts.
	
		
			  Property Sold  Possible development for housing 
			  2004-05  
			 18 Brydon Road, Redditch  
			 21/23 Coulter Lane, Burntwood  
			 7 Wells Lane Terrace, Cheddleton  
			 Land at Mickledale Lane, Bilsthorpe  
			 317 Mansfield Road, Nottingham  
			 Watling Street Clinic, Bishop Auckland  
			 Land at Burnhill Way, Newton Aycliffe Yes 
			 Land at Newton Aycliffe Hospital Yes 
			 Gables and land Winterton, Sedgefield  
			 7 Springfield Street, Warrington  
			 113 Coldharbour Road, Sherbourne  
			 Holsworthy Ambulance Station and Health Centre  
			 Part Western Hospital, Crediton  
			 Land at Hanham Hall, Hanham  
			 Land at Lord Mayor Treloar, Alton  
			 10 Gunn Street, Reading  
			 Land at Langney, Eastbourne  
			 Land at St Ebba's, Epsom  
			 St Ebba's Cottage, Epsom  
			 Land at Joyce Green, Dartford  
			 Warley Lodge, Warley  
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Land at Princess Royal, Telford  
			 St. Margarets, Walsall Yes 
			 St. Crispin's Social Club, Northampton  
			 Land at Towers Hospital, Leicester Yes 
			 1/3 Nightingale Close, Mulbarton  
			 High Royd's, Menston Yes 
			 Killingbeck, Leeds Yes 
			 Land at Neville Drive, Sedgefield Yes 
			 30 Windermere Gardens, Gateshead  
			 St. Oswald's Hospice, Newcastle  
			 New Lodge, Whittingham  
			 Middleton Hospital, Ilkley Yes 
			 10 Mayroyd Avenue, Tolworth  
			 47 Gainsborough Road, Epsom  
			 Conolly House, Napsbury Yes 
			 Colvend, Napsbury  
			 121 Cranleigh Mead, Cranleigh  
			 19 Netherne Lane, Coulsdon  
			 24 Park Road, Maidstone  
			 40 Park Road, Maidstone  
			 46 Park Road, Maidstone  
			 2 Brambletye Park Road, Redhill  
			 Land at Joyce Green, Dartford  
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Banstead  
			 Silverlands, Chertsey  
			 Bungalow, Woodplace Lane, Coulsdon  
			 Glenside, Bristol  
			 Part Severalls Hospital Site, Colchester Yes 
			 Turner Village, Colchester Yes 
			 Land at St. Mary's Axminster Yes 
			 Cashes Green Hospital, Stroud Yes 
			 St. Leonards, Ringwood Yes 
			 Tiverton District Hospital, Tiverton Yes 
			 Belmont Hospital, Tiverton Yes 
			 Cottages 1 to 5, Herrison  
			 Lower Farm Buildings, Herrison  
			 Sewer Field, Herrison Hanham Hall, Bristol Yes 
			 Part Countess of Chester, Chester Yes 
			 Whittingham, Preston Yes 
			 Winwick Farm, Warrington Yes 
			 Winwick Social Club, Warrington  
			 Land at Lancaster Moor, Lancaster Yes 
			 Homelands Hospital, Crook Yes 
			 Killingworth Stores, Killingworth  
			 Maiden Law Hospital, Durham Yes 
			 Part St. Georges Hospital, Morpeth Yes 
			 Land at Aycliffe Hospital, Newton Aycliffe Yes 
			 Birney Hill Farm, Ponteland  
			 Stannington Children's Hospital, Stannington Yes 
			 Ashington General Hospital, Ashington Yes 
			 Part Shotley Bridge Hospital, Consett Yes 
			 Tindale Crescent, Bishop Auckland Yes 
			 Hull Maternity Hospital, Hull Yes 
			 Land at Seacroft Hospital, Leeds Yes 
			 Part Wharfdale Hospital, Otley Yes 
			 Land at Springfield, Grimsby Yes 
			 Scartho Hall, Grimsby  
			 Scartho Hall - site opposite, Grimsby  
			 Land at Norton Aerodrome, Sheffield  
			 Lord Mayor Treloar, Alton Yes 
			 Park Prewett, Basingstoke Yes 
			 St Augustines, Chartham Yes 
			 Mabledon, Dartford Yes 
			 Alpha House, Droxford  
			 Part St Ebbas, Epsom Yes 
			 Horton Farm, Epsom  
			 Retail Centre site, Horton, Epsom Yes 
			 Part West Park Hospital, Epsom Yes 
			 Part Coldeast Hospital, Fareham Yes 
			 Part Knowle Hospital, Wickham  
			 Land at St. Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath Yes 
			 Leyboume Grange, Maidstone Yes 
			 Linton Hospital, Maidstone Yes 
			 Part Milford Hospital, Milford Yes 
			 Land at Royal Earlswood, Redhill  
			 Land at Hill House, Rye Yes 
			 Sheppey Hospital, Sheppey Yes 
			 Part Southlands Hospital, Shoreham Yes 
			 Hazel Farm, Southampton Yes 
			 Land at St Johns Hospital, Stone Yes 
			 Part Tatchbury Hospital, Calmore Yes 
			 Fair Mile Hospital, Cholsey Yes 
			 Land at Celsea Place, Cholsey  
			 Renny Lodge, Newport Pagnell Yes 
			 Stretton Hall Farmland, Oadby Yes 
			 Ashover House, Lincoln  
			 Carey House, Skegness  
			 Derby City Chest Clinic, Derby  
			 Barnsley Hall Land, Bromsgrove Yes 
			 Land at the Limes, Himley Yes 
			 Part Lea Castle Hospital, Kidderminster Yes 
			 Ledbury Cottage Hospital, Ledbury Yes 
			 Smallwood, Redditch  
			 Royal Shrewsbury  South Yes 
			 Land at Chemsley, Solihull Yes 
			 Land at Middlefield, Knowle Yes 
			 Land at Bucknall, Bucknall Yes 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 11 Edith Road, London  
			 Bridge Wharf, London  
			 48 Park Road, Maidstone  
			 31 Pathfields, Shere  
			 40 Princes Road, Redhill  
			 42 Princes Road, Redhill  
			 9 Princes Road, Redhill  
			 Orchard Field, Virginia Water  
			 42 Redan Road, Aldershot  
			 44 Redan Road, Aldershot  
			 Hollywood Lodge, Epsom  
			 Eastwood Park, Falfield  
			 9 Highbury Villas, Bristol  
			 Oakleigh, Plymouth  
			 Okehampton Castle Hospital, Okehampton  
			 57 Park Road, Loughborough  
			 Land at Sedgefield  
			 Fieldside, Workington  
			 Land at St. Catherine's, Doncaster Yes 
			 Compton Hospice, Wolverhampton  
			 Broseley Hospital, Broseley  
			 Wellington Cottage Hospital, Telford  
			 Stone House Hospital, Dartford Yes 
			 St. Margarets Hospital, Epping Yes 
			 Runwell Hospital, Wickford Yes 
			 Part Prudhoe Hospital, Prudhoe Yes 
			 Part Manor Kingsway Hospital, Derby Yes 
			 Cane Hill Hospital, Coulsdon Yes 
			 Part Grimsby General Hospital, Grimsby Yes 
			 St. Clements Social Club, Ipswich  
			 Graylingwell Hospital, Chichester Yes 
			 The Beeches Hospital, Telford Yes 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hackney Yes 
			 337-339 Hackney Road, Hackney  
			 18 Paddington Green, London  
			 Eastry Hospital, Eastry Yes 
			 35 Higher Kingston, Yeovil  
			 10 Woodside, Plymouth  
			 St. Mary's Hospital, Stannington Yes 
			 103 Oakwood Drive, Ulverston  
			 Sedgefield Hospital, Sedgefield  
			 Agricultural land, Winterton  
			 Willowburn, Maiden Law Hospital, Lanchester Yes 
			 112 Northbourne Road, Jarrow  
			 140 Hedworth Lane, Jarrow  
			 27 Willow Grange, Jarrow  
			 Land at South Elmsall, Wakefield Yes 
			 18 Battlefield Lane, Holbeach  
			 Holbeach Hospital, Holbeach  
			 Land at Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey  
			 Cherry Knowle Hospital, Sunderland Yes 
			 Part Towers Hospital, Leicester Yes 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 10 Houses in Surrey  
			 30 Paul Road, Bodmin  
			 Land at Cronehills, West Bromwich  
			 Laverneo, Grindon  
			 Horton House, Epsom Yes

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which ICT projects costing more than 1 million his Department has initiated and abandoned before completion in each year since 2002; what costs were incurred in each project; who the main contractor for each was; on what date each was  (a) commenced and  (b) abandoned; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: No information and communication technology (ICT) projects costing more than 1 million have been initiated and abandoned by the Department since 2002. This includes all ICT projects initiated by the Department's Information Services, NHS Connecting for Health, NHS Choices, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency , and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the initial estimated  (a) cost and  (b) delivery date for each ICT project initiated by his Department and its predecessor that cost more than 1 million was in each year since 2002.

Ben Bradshaw: The initial estimated costs and delivery dates of the information and communication technology (ICT) projects costing over 1 million that were initiated by the Department's Information Services function since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Initial estimated delivery date of project  Initial estimated cost of project ( million) 
			 DOTP October 2003 3.165 
			 CSC Transformation March 2004 9.1 
			 Vista April 2004 6.9 
			 UNIFY1 September 2005 2.179 
			 SP2 Upgrade February 2006 0.882 
			 Quarry House LAN March 2006 3.0 
			 Delphi June 2006 2.324 
			 The Club July 2006 1.949 
			 Notes Upgrade September 2006 1.993 
			 UNIFY2 April 2007 2.404 
			 MEDBEN February 2008 0.68 
			 BMS July 2008 10.5 
			 Ref Costs 2008 October 2008 0.875 
			 Delphi 2 January 2009 2.198 
			 UNIFY Enhancement November 2009 2.057 
			 ACCEA December 2009 1.5 
		
	
	The initial estimated costs and delivery dates of the ICT projects costing over 1 million that were undertaken by NHS Choices since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Initial estimated delivery date of project  Initial estimated cost of p roject (  million) 
			 NHS Choices Technical Build July 2007 3.7 
		
	
	The initial estimated costs and delivery dates of the ICT projects costing over 1 million that were undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Initial estimated delivery date of project  Initial estimated cost of project ( million) 
			 Sentinel Pharmacovigilance Casefolders April 2006 1.342 
			 Sentinel Server Upgrade January 2009 3.5 
			 Sentinel Component Software Development June 2009 1.6 
		
	
	The ICT projects undertaken by NHS Connecting for Health are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Initial estimated delivery date of project  Initial estimated cost of project ( billion) 
			 National Programme for IT (NPfIT) (1) (2)6.2 
			 (1) NPfIT comprises a number of separate systems and services for which, as a whole, there is no single national completion date.  (2 )This is the initial estimated cost of the core contracts. It was included in the estimated cost of the entire programme (12.453 billion, at 2004-05 prices, including local and other costs) as reported by the National Audit Office in its June 2006 report on NPfIT. 
		
	
	 Cost of providing the above information
	The cost of obtaining and collating the above information is approx 650. There are ICT elements to some of the business area programmes within the Department (e.g. Influenza Pandemic Preparedness) but the additional cost to obtain and collate this information would be disproportionate and exceed the 750 threshold for answers to parliamentary questions.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) outturn cost and  (b) completion date of each ICT project initiated by his Department and its predecessor that cost more than 1 million was, in each year since 2002.

Ben Bradshaw: The outturn costs and completion dates of information and communication technology projects (ICT) costing over 1 million that were initiated by the Department's Information Services function since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Outturn cost of project ( million)  Completion date of project 
			 DOTP 3.328 March 2004 
			 CSC Transformation 12.7 December 2004 
			 Vista 6.9 April 2004 
			 UNIFY1 1.989 September 2005 
			 SP2 Upgrade 1.065 March 2007 
			 Quarry House LAN 2.738 June 2007 
			 Delphi 2.261 June 2006 
			 The Club 1.7 March 2007 
			 Notes Upgrade 2.141 August 2008 
			 UNIFY2 2.580 May 2007 
			 MEDBEN 1.093 October 2008 
			 BMS 10.5 July 2008 
			 Ref Costs 2008 1.235 December 2008 
			 Delphi 2 Ongoing Not yet completed 
			 UNIFY Enhancement Ongoing Not yet completed 
			 ACCEA Ongoing Not yet completed 
		
	
	The outturn costs and completion dates of the ICT projects costing over 1 million that were undertaken by NHS Choices since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Initial estimated cost of project (  million)  Initial estimated delivery date of project 
			 NHS Choices Technical Build 4.28 July 2007 
		
	
	The outturn costs and completion dates of the ICT projects costing over 1 million that were undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Outturn cost of project ( million)  Completion date of project 
			 Sentinel Pharmacovigilance Casefolders 1.587 May 2006 
			 Sentinel Server Upgrade 3.5 January 2009 
			 Sentinel Component Software Development Ongoing Not yet completed 
		
	
	The ICT projects undertaken by NHS Connecting for Health are listed as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Outturn cost of project ( billion)  Completion date of project 
			 National Programme for IT (NPfIT) 6.8(1) (2) 
			 (1 )The original estimated core contracts cost of 6.2 billion is unchanged. The revised figure of 6.8 billion includes additional functionality. This is included in the cost of the entire programme (12.656 billion at 2004-05 prices, including local and other costs) as reported by the National Audit Office in its May 2008 report on NPfIT. (2 )NPfIT comprises a number of separate systems and services for which, as a whole, there is no single completion date.  Note: Cost of providing the above information.  The cost of obtaining and collating the above information is approx 650. There are ICT elements to some of the business area programmes within the Department (e.g. Influenza Pandemic Preparedness) but the additional cost to obtain and collate this information would be disproportionate and exceed the 750 threshold for answers to parliamentary questions.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the main contractor hired for each ICT project initiated by his Department and its predecessor that cost more than 1 million in each year since 2002 was; and how much has been paid to them in respect of each project to date.

Ben Bradshaw: The main contractors for the information and communications technology (ICT) projects costing over 1 million that were initiated by the Department's Information Services function since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Name of main contractor  Amount paid to main contractor to date ( million) 
			 DOTP Sapient 1.5 
			 CSC Transformation CSC 12.7 
			 Vista Cap Gemini, Ernst  Young 1.6 
			 UNIFY1 No main contractor n/a 
			 SP2 Upgrade CSC 1.065 
			 Quarry House LAN CSC 2.738 
			 Delphi CSC 1.263 
			 The Club Xansa (now called Steria) 1.7 
			 Notes Upgrade CSC 2.141 
			 UNIFY2 Sapient 1.592 
			 MEDBEN Sapient 0.630 
			 BMS Sapient 7.4 
			 Ref Costs 2008 Sapient 0.732 
			 Delphi 2 CSC 1.511 
			 UNIFY Enhancement Sapient 0.298 
			 ACCEA Sapient 0.571 
		
	
	The main contractors for the ICT projects costing over 1 million that were undertaken by NHS Choices since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Name of main contractor  Amount paid to main contractor to date ( million) 
			 NHS Choices Technical Build Various(1) 1.1 
			 (1) There were a number of different suppliers for provision of hosting services, software licences, and hardware etc. 
		
	
	The main contractors for the ICT projects costing over 1 million that were undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency since 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			  Name of project  Name of main contractor  Amount paid to main contractor to date ( million) 
			 Sentinel Pharmacovigilance Casefolders Accenture 1.587 
			 Sentinel Server Upgrade Accenture 2.754 
			 Sentinel Component Software Development Accenture 0.095 
		
	
	The core contractors for the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) undertaken by NHS Connecting for Health are as follows:
	
		
			   million 
			  Core contractors  Category  Projected lifetime costs  Amount paid to main contractor( 1) 
			 BT London 1,021 191 
			 Fujitsu South 1,104 81 
			 CSC (to September 2006 Accenture) North East 1,035 214 
			 CSC (to September 2006 Accenture) East 930 200 
			 CSC North West  West Midlands 1,042 185 
			 BT Spine 889 585 
			 BT N3 Network 530 423 
			 Atos Origin Choose and Book 144 103 
			  Amount retained by Accenture(2) 110 -49 
			 Total  6,805 3,550 
			 (1 )Expenditure to 31 March 2008 at 2003-04 prices (year of signature of contracts). The figures up to 31 March 2009 will not be available until the Department's Resource Accounts are compiled later this year. (2 )In 2006, Accenture made arrangements to voluntarily novate the company's contract to another existing supplier under the programme. Of the 179 million Accenture had received to that point the company retained 110 million for work completed. 49 million represents the value, for accounting purposes, of moneys repaid as at 31 March 2008.  Note: Cost of providing the above information  The cost of obtaining and collating the above information is approx 650. There are ICT elements to some of the business area programmes within the Department (e.g. Influenza Pandemic Preparedness) but the additional cost to obtain and collate this information would be disproportionate and exceed the 750 threshold for answers to parliamentary questions.

Departmental Lost Property

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2009,  Official Report, column 702W, on departmental lost property, what the eight miscellaneous items of equipment detailed as lost or stolen from his Department were.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 March 2009
	The eight items of departmental property reported as lost or stolen that were categorised as miscellaneous to the answer of 13 March were:
	
		
			  Description  Number 
			 Mobile connection 3G card 1 
			 Portable digital dictation machine 1 
			 USB memory sticks 2 
			 Laptop docking station 1 
			 RSA secure ID token for remote authentication 2 
			 LCD monitor 1 
		
	
	The approximate replacement value is 700.

Disabled: Elderly

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the number and proportion of people aged 65 years and over with a disability; and how many such people he estimates there will be in  (a) 2010 and  (b) 2015.

Phil Hope: No recent estimate has been made of the number of people aged 65 years and over living with a disability.

Diseases

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases there were of  (a) mumps,  (b) rickets,  (c) whooping cough,  (d) scarlet fever,  (e) diphtheria,  (f) botulism,  (g) gout,  (h) impetigo,  (i) scurvy,  (j) listeria,  (k) tuberculosis,  (l) polio,  (m) typhus and  (n) typhoid in each (A) region outside London and (B) primary care trust area inside London in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: This information has been placed in the Library. Notifications are collected at a local authority level and strategic health authority level, not at a primary care trust level.

Gosport War Memorial Hospital

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the report prepared by Professor Richard Baker on events at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.

Ann Keen: The report from Professor Baker is not yet in the public domain, and we have to balance the legitimate public interest in openness against the rights of individuals named within the report in respect of personal details relating to them. We consider that there is a legitimate public interest in protecting their rights, at the present time, for those facts not to be disclosedor at least for them to have a full opportunity to read the report and make their own comments upon it. Performing that assessment and taking all the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Act issues into account, we have concluded that on balance we should not yet issue it.
	However, recognising the public interest in this whole issue, we do intend, once the inquests are concluded and the General Medical Council have decided what their action will be, and subject to the appropriate individuals identified in the report's having had a chance to comment, to publish the Baker report, should publication still be relevantthat is to say, it may in the meantime become public knowledge from another official source, such as the proceedings of an inquest.

Health Centres: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest timetable is for the establishment of the proposed new GP-led health centre in Kettering.

Ben Bradshaw: Northamptonshire Teaching Primary Care Trust successfully opened a general practitioner-led health centre in Corby in December 2008 that is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, 365 days a year. The primary care trust has put on hold plans for other similar services including the one proposed for Kettering, as these will now form part of a wider integrated plan for primary care developing over the coming years.

Health Centres: Nurses

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of general practitioner practice nurses that will be needed to staff new general practitioner-led health centres.

Ben Bradshaw: The precise skill mix is best determined locally by the primary care trust and the appointed local contractors and will depend on the range of services commissioned at the centre. Our guidance to the national health service suggested a general practitioner (GP)-led health centre might have nine practice nurses, and three GPs to reflect the extended hours and walk-in appointments which will predominantly be dealt with by nurses. However there should always be a GP available at all times able to see patients, where appropriate.

Health Services: North East

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has given approval to the transfer of the Sir Martin Roth Unit at Newcastle General Hospital to Prudhoe; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Sir Martin Roth Unit, formerly based at Newcastle General Hospital, was transferred to Prudhoe Hospital in May 2008. The North East Strategic Health Authority reports that the transfer took place following consultation with service users, parents, carers, stakeholders and staff. A joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee of local authorities agreed to the proposals on 21 September 2007. The transfer of the unit did not require the approval of the Secretary of State for Health, as proposals for the reconfiguration of services are a matter for the national health service locally, working in conjunction with clinicians, patients and other stakeholders.

Health Visitors: Yorkshire and the Humber

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors were employed by  (a) Barnsley primary care trust and  (b) Doncaster primary care trust in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of health visitors in each specified organisation as at 30 September in each specified year from 2001.
	
		
			   Barnsley primary care trust (PCT)  Doncaster PCT 
			 2001 n/a 96 
			 2002 53 92 
			 2003 65 87 
			 2004 69 94 
			 2005 67 97 
			 2006 60 87 
			 2007 52 92 
			  Notes: 1. n/a denotes not available. Barnsley PCT was formed in 2002 from a merger of Eastern Barnsley primary care group (PCG), Barnsley West PCG and Barnsley Community and Priority Services NHS Trust. It is impossible to accurately map figures for these predecessor organisations. 2. Doncaster PCT was created on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of Doncaster Central PCT, Doncaster East PCT and Doncaster West PCT. It is impossible to accurately map figures for these predecessor organisations prior to 2001.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care.

Hospitals: Admissions

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were admitted to NHS hospitals in  (a) Essex and  (b) England in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of patients admitted to national health service hospitals in Essex and England in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Count of finished admission episodes in Essex and England, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			   Essex  England 
			 2003-04 342,596 11,809,017 
			 2004-05 350,506 12,101,986 
			 2005-06 371,713 12,678,628 
			 2006-07 374,850 12,976,273 
			 2007-08 399,921 13,479,828 
			  Notes: 1. The data provided are the number of finished admission episodes for primary care trusts in Essex and for England for the years 2003-04 to 2007-08. 2. The data provided include activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 3. The number of finished admission episodes is not the same as the number of patients admitted as a patient may be admitted more than once.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS information centre for health and social care.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of personal antimicrobial products used  (a) before entry to hospital for elective patients and  (b) during hospital stays in combating health care-acquired infections; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department has not undertaken any work on the efficacy of personal antimicrobial products before entry to hospital for elective patients or during stays in hospital and is not aware of any evidence that these products offer advantages over materials supplied to patients by the national health service.
	Our strategy Clean Safe Care' draws together the measures required to control infections. Generally, normal soap and toiletries are adequate for patients' personal hygiene during their hospital stay, and hospitals will provide special soap and shampoo to prevent bacterial infections as necessary. The decision to provide patients with antimicrobial soap and shampoo is based on local infection prevention and control policies.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the consultation document on Part IX of the Drug Tariff.

Phil Hope: We have no plans to consult further. We will announce the new arrangements for the provision of stoma and urology appliances in due course, at which time we will publish the summary of the responses to the last consultation.

Injuries: Offensive Weapons

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) under 16,  (b) between 16 and 18,  (c) between 19 and 25,  (d) between 26 and 35,  (e) between 36 and 50 and  (f) over 50 years were admitted to hospital in each (i) region and (ii) primary care trust area in London due to assault by a (A) sharp and (B) blunt object in each of the last five years; and how many such people required (1) emergency care and (2) intensive care as a result of being assaulted by a (x) sharp object and (y) blunt object in each of those years.

Dawn Primarolo: Information has been provided on the age groupings 19 to 25 rather than 18 to 25 (in order to avoid double counting). The data have been broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) of residence and then a further breakdown of individual primary care trusts (PCTs) in London has been provided. As well as this, extra tables showing emergency admissions to hospitals have been provided, as this is the closest thing we can provide to emergency care. Hospital episode statistics datasets are not able to determine whether admissions required intensive care or not.
	In 2006-07 SHAs were reconfigured, with 28 SHAs merging into 10. Due to this, data for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are based on the new configuration.
	Tables showing a Count of admissions and emergency admissions by SHA and London PCT of residences broken down by age where there is an external cause of assault by sharp object (X99) and assault by blunt object (Y00) in 2003-04 to 2007-08, have been placed in the Library.
	It should be noted that the number of admissions do not represent the number of patients as someone may have been admitted more than once.

Learning Disability: Care Homes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is planned to be spent by social services on residential care for people with a learning disability in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally.

Malnutrition

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) patients and  (b) children under 10 years old were admitted to hospital in each (i) region outside London and (ii) primary care trust area inside London as a result of malnutrition in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The total admissions to hospital where there was a primary diagnosis of malnutrition broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) of treatment from 2003-04 to 2007-08 are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			Admissions where there was a primary diagnosis of malnutrition 
			2007-08  2006-07 
			  Total (England) 391 362 
			 Q30 North East Strategic Health Authority 18 27 
			 Q31 North West Strategic Health Authority 50 36 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority 39 45 
			 Q33 East Midlands Strategic Health Authority 31 34 
			 Q34 West Midlands Strategic Health Authority 59 56 
			 Q35 East of England Strategic Health Authority 33 32 
			 Q36 London Strategic Health Authority 52 45 
			 Q37 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority 25 19 
			 Q38 South Central Strategic Health Authority 36 27 
			 Q39 South West Strategic Health Authority 48 41 
		
	
	
		
			  Total admissions to hospital where there was a primary diagnosis of malnutrition broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) of treatment in 2005-06 to 2003-04: Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   Admissions where there was a primary diagnosis of malnutrition 
			   2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			 Total (England) 304 261 256 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic HA 14 12 9 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic HA * * * 
			 Essex Strategic HA 10 8 * 
			 North West London Strategic HA 11 7 7 
			 North Central London Strategic HA 7 6 * 
			 North East London Strategic HA 11 13 8 
			 South East London Strategic HA 12 * 16 
			 South West London Strategic HA * 14 6 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic HA 11 7 10 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic HA 9 6 * 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic HA * * 8 
			 West Yorkshire Strategic HA 9 6 7 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic HA 9 9 9 
			 Greater Manchester Strategic HA 12 14 20 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic HA 16 9 18 
			 Thames Valley Strategic HA 16 11 9 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic HA 10 18 10 
			 Kent and Medway Strategic HA * * 10 
			 Surrey and Sussex Strategic HA 13 13 7 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic HA 15 9 22 
			 South West Peninsula Strategic HA 22 21 12 
			 Dorset and Somerset Strategic HA * 7 8 
			 South Yorkshire Strategic HA 11 8 7 
			 Trent Strategic HA 14 9 9 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Strategic HA 10 * * 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic HA 6 19 8 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country Strategic HA 31 18 14 
			 West Midlands South Strategic HA 8 * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Total admissions to hospital where there was a primary diagnosis of malnutrition broken down by age group from 2003-04 to 2007-08: Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   Admissions where there was a primary diagnosis of malnutrition 
			   Under 10  10 and over  Unknown 
			 2007-08 25 366 (1) 
			 2006-07 19 342 1 
			 2005-06 15 289 (1) 
			 2004-05 12 249 (1) 
			 2003-04 14 242 (1) 
			 (1 )No data available.

Medical Records

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by each healthcare trust on sending patient medical records by taxi in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 162W.

Mentally Ill: Children

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for  (a) antidepressants and  (b) antipsychotic drugs of each type have been made in respect of under 18-year-olds of each sex and age in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Midwives

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives have become fully qualified in England in each year of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS: Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any arrangements are in place to assist trusts with budget deficits to bring forward capital investment proposals.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 March 2009
	There were 17 NHS trusts designated financially challenged in 2006-07 (financially challenged trusts (FCTs)). Long-term financial recovery plans were drawn up for these NHS trusts with the aim of returning them to financial balance while maintaining and improving services to patients. 10 of these trusts have agreed a realistic profile for surpluses going forward and repayment of their historic debt within five years and were no longer therefore designated as FCTs at the beginning of the 2008-09 financial year. One of these trusts was Royal Cornwall hospitals NHS trust.
	Capital investment schemes can form part of the recovery plan at FCTs as they can deliver cost efficiency savings at the same time as improvements in patient care. In exceptional circumstances, where a trust urgently requires a level of investment that it cannot afford from its depreciation or from affordable borrowing from the Department, it can receive an exceptional allocation of capital from the Department (referred to as exceptional Public Dividend Capital (PDC)).
	At Royal Cornwall hospitals NHS the Department has recently agreed to fund two capital schemes from exceptional Public Dividend Capital: new operating theatres at St. Michael's hospital (total 5.8 million); and 3.8 million to create a 'central hub' for sexual health services on the Royal Cornwall hospital site.

NHS: Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what capital project funding is available to  (a) primary care and  (b) acute trusts for (i) substantial and (ii) large capital investment projects.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 March 2009
	Both public capital and private finance through the private finance initiative (PFI) and NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) (for acute trusts and the primary care estate respectively) is available for both small and large scale capital investment projects.
	Information on the amounts of public capital resources so far allocated to strategic health authorities (SHAs), NHS trusts and primary care trusts in 2008-09 has been placed in the Library.
	The allocations data provided show the total capital resources allocated up to the end of Quarter 3 (December 2008). Allocations include capital funding for locally prioritised capital expenditure and programme capital for centrally announced initiatives and reflect adjustments for capital grants to third parties.
	Some organisations are showing a negative capital allocation. Negative allocations can arise where there are planned asset disposals and the selling organisation does not plan to reinvest the total value of the disposal in capital assets in the selling organisation's books in the year of disposal.
	From resources of 5.6 billion and 4.8 billion of public capital for the NHS announced in the pre-Budget report (November 2008) for 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively, allocations for these years are currently being set as part of NHS trusts' and PCTs' financial plans.
	Private Finance in the form of senior debt and shareholder capital (equity) under the PFI and NHS LIFT initiatives is raised by private sector project companies which win contracts for schemes put out to tender by the procuring authority (i.e. an NHS Trust or PCT).

NHS: ICT

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been of new computer systems ordered for use in the National Health Service since 2007; which NHS computer contracts have been cancelled after the order was placed over that period; and what effect the installed new computer systems are expected to have on the NHS's expenditure.

Ben Bradshaw: Comprehensive information is not available centrally in the form requested.
	Local information technology (IT) expenditure reported by the national health service in the 2007-08 financial yearthe latest period for which information is availableamounted to 1,852 million. This figure comprises revenue expenditure (1,517 million, including capital charges of 258 million) reported through an annual national survey of IT investment, and capital expenditure (335 million), identified in NHS accounts and reported by foundation trusts. It does not include expenditure by special health authorities or central expenditure funded by the Department. The information collected does not differentiate between different elements of IT expenditure, for example on hardware or software-related costs, nor include details of the local contractual arrangements.
	Contracts covering the core systems and service being provided centrally under the national programme for information technology were entered into during 2003 and 2004. The contract with Fujitsu, the then local service provider for the national programme in the south of England, was terminated in May 2008 because of the company's failure to meet key contractual milestones and to provide an acceptable remediation plan.
	Information about the local financial and resource impact due to the implementation of computer systems are held locally by the NHS organisations involved. However, while the purpose of the new systems being deployed through the national programme is to improve patient services by delivering better, safer care to patients more efficiently, they will in fact also save money by relieving doctors and other staff of unnecessary and time-consuming administrative burdens.

NHS: Statistics

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which sets of statistical information which his Department required from NHS organisations in 2004 are no longer required to be supplied.

Ben Bradshaw: The list of central data returns required from the national health service by the Department in 2004 which have subsequently been discontinued is as follows.
	 ROCR (Review of Central Returns) approved Department of Health statistical collections of information that have been discontinued since 2004
	 Discontinued ongoing collections
	Collection of data about Prescription Prepayment Certificates
	Survey of Registration and Inspection of Local Authority and Health Authority Units
	Collection of Controls Assurance Data
	Community Dental Health Services
	Emergency Dental ServicesEDS1
	Acute Hospital Patient Centred and Clinical Information Systems Survey
	Audited Funds Held on Trust summarisation schedules (12 CTF Forms)
	Comprehensive Mental Health Service Mapping
	Consultant Outpatient First Attendances (Provider Based)
	Demand for Elective Admission (Health Authority Based)
	Demand for Elective Admission: Events occurring during the Quarter (Provider Based)
	Demand for Elective Admission: Events occurring during the Quarter (Relevant Population Based)
	Demand for Elective Admission: Number of People who have Deferred Admission Waiting at the End of the Quarter (Health Authority Based)
	Demand for Elective Admission: Number of People who have Deferred Admission Waiting at the End of the Quarter (Provider Based)
	Demand for Elective Admission: Position at the end of the Quarter (Provider Based)
	Dental Distance Standards
	Financial and Workforce Information Return
	GMP Calculation of Superannuable Remuneration
	Health visiting and other Professional Advice and Support in the community
	Landlord's expenses survey: notional rents and interest on loans
	Mapping Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
	Mission Critical and High Risk Projects
	Mixed Sex Hospital Accommodation (formerly Patients Charter StandardSingle Sex Hospital Accommodation)
	Monitoring accidents, violence and harassment targets
	Monitoring equalities and education targets
	Monitoring the 50 million Central Budget for Specialist Palliative Care
	Monthly Monitoring Collection
	Newly Reported HIV Infected Persons (Cumulative)
	Newly Reported HIV Infected Persons (In Year)
	NHS Trusts Annual Accounts Summarisation Forms (34 TAC Forms)
	NHS Day Care: Availability and Use of Facilities
	NHS Plan Monitoring of Planned Workforce Increases
	Nursing Campaign Return
	Patient Care in the Community: Community Learning Disability Nursing
	Patient Care in the Community: Community Mental Health Nursing
	Patient Care in the Community: District Nursing
	Patient Care in the Community: Specialist Care Nursing
	Patient's Charter Key Standards covering: Emergency Admissions through A and E; Waiting in Outpatient Clinics; Cancelled Operations and Transfer of Medical Records
	Personal Medical Services
	Practices below a minimum standard
	Progress on implementing S21 of the Disability Discrimination Act
	Regional Librarians Group (RLG) Statistics
	Safety Alert Broadcast System (SABS)
	Strategic Health Authority Analysis of Strategic Health Authority Provisions
	Summary of Chiropody Services
	Summary of Clinical Psychology Services
	Summary of Occupational Therapy Services
	Summary of Physiotherapy Services
	Summary of Speech and Language Therapy Services
	Summary of Ward Attenders (KH05)
	Unaudited SHA summarisation schedules
	Assessment of Consultants' Performance
	Assessment of Contractors' Performance
	Contract Monitoring Following Tender
	Contract Tender Reporting
	Forms Notifying Capital Scheme Approval
	Scheme Monitoring Following Approval
	Working Time Directive (WTD)Gathering Intelligence from SHAs
	Cancer Waiting Times: Monitoring the Two Week Target
	Sickness Absence Collection
	Salaried Doctors Employed under Salaried Doctors Scheme
	AIDS (Control) Act 1987 Revised Reporting Arrangements
	Consultant Level Prospective Waiting Times Information
	Quarterly Monitoring of Cancer Bookings
	National Orthopaedics Projectposition statement
	Survey of Health Professionals' attitudes and experiences with childhood immunisation 2006
	Consultants Claiming an Award
	Finance Staffing Database
	Pharmaceutical, Dental and Ophthalmic Services
	Weekly Access Return (inc PTL's)
	 One-off collections
	Consultant Outpatient Clinic Activity and Accident and Emergency Services Activity (KH09)
	Consultant Outpatient First Attendances (Health Authority Based)
	Childcare arrangements in NHS Trusts
	Out of area treatment Welsh Local Health Board
	Local Stop Smoking Services
	Survey of attitudes to and practice of prevention in primary care
	Assessing Variation in Uptake of NICE Approved Cancer Drugs
	A Strategy for NHS Information Quality Assurance
	Controls Assurance
	Audit of Child Information Systems
	Data Quality of CAD
	Care Programme Approach (CPA) Survey
	CAMHS Letters to PCTs
	NHS E-Booking Research
	Electrical Power in NHS Acute Hospitals
	Accounting for NHS Allocations for PACS
	Alcohol Treatment Services Audit
	HRG (Healthcare Resource Group) Questionnaire
	Abortion waiting times and commissioning policies audit
	Department of Health Stakeholder Perceptions Audit (DH Stakeholder Survey)
	Mental Health Czar: Fact Finding Survey
	Alcohol Enforcement Campaign: A and E collection
	NHS Euro Preparedness
	Tracking Cancer Investment
	Enhanced Services Spend
	National information strategy research, telephone survey
	System Reform Behaviours and Relationships
	MORI SHA survey
	Consultant Contract Survey
	Care Programme Approach (CPA) Survey
	Local out-of-hours arrangements
	 Notes
	1. The list of discontinued collections provided are those that have been through the central approval process, received ministerial approval and had an official licence for the data to be collected.
	2. Collections have been included that were discontinued, but were subsequently superseded by new collections that covered or changed the original data requirement.
	3. The list of one-off collections relate to requests for data during 2004 that were not scheduled to be repeated in subsequent years.
	4. Collections are not included that commenced after 2004 and have subsequently been discontinued.

NHS: Working Hours

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effect of implementation of the European Working Time Directive on the working practices of NHS staff.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of implementation of the European Working Time Directive on working practices in hospitals in England; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of NHS staff in each professional role whose working practices will be affected by the implementation of the revised European Working Time Directive.

Ann Keen: Many parts of the national health service have made excellent progress implementing this important legislation, which ensures that patients receive safe, high quality care from staff who have not been forced to work excessive hours. The United Kingdom Government notified the European Commission in January of their assessment of progress in achieving compliance with the European Working Time Directive by doctors in training. A copy of the UK Notification of Derogation for Doctors in Training has been placed in the Library. The Department is working closely with the Medical Royal Colleges, the British Medical Association and the strategic health authorities to ensure trusts are prepared for full implementation.

Occupational Therapy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what planning assessments he has made in respect of the number of occupational therapists required in the National Health Service.

Ann Keen: As at 30 September 2007, there were 17,024 qualified occupational therapy staff employed in the national health service.
	Effective work force planning is about delivering the best possible patient care by ensuring high quality staff with the right skills are in the right place at the right time.
	No assessment has been made centrally as to the number of occupational therapists required as local NHS organisations are best placed to assess the health care needs of their local populations.

Patients: Surveys

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of the latest GP patient survey is; and how much of that cost relates to writing to patients who had already answered, asking them to participate.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 March 2009
	The budget for the GP patient survey during 2008-09 is 8 million, a reduction of 20 per cent. on the 2007-08 costs. It is inevitable that with a survey of 5.7 million patients there will be a degree of crossover in the post of completed surveys with reminders. The number of items posted for each wave of the 2008-09 survey was:
	5 January: 5,660,236;
	9 February: 4,698,854; and
	9 March: 3,496,282.
	The postage cost of each individual letter works out at 28 pence per letter and it is estimated that due to the printing lead time of the reminders 200,000 questionnaires may have crossed in the post between completion and receipt of the reminders.

Physiology

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from clinical physiologists on state registration for qualified members of their profession.

Ann Keen: In the past year we have received at least 69 representations. However, without examining each of these cases, this is only an indicative number. A more accurate answer could be given only at disproportionate cost.

Primary Care Trusts

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce rules to restrict the use of public funds by primary care trusts on legal advice in relation to action taken by them in response to public concerns about the closure of hospital departments.

Ann Keen: It is for individual national health service organisations to decide, in conjunction with the direction and priorities agreed with their strategic health authority and priorities set out in the Department's NHS operating framework, how to spend their resources for the benefit of patients. This principle applies to all expenditure and investment, including expenditure on legal fees.

Strokes: Health Services

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken under the National Stroke Strategy to reduce vascular risk in stroke or trans ischaemic attack patients.

Ann Keen: Under the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) primary care receives points for having a register of patients who have had a stroke or a trans ischaemic attack (TIA). The QOF also covers a number of indicators which relate to good clinical management of stroke patients, covering referral for further investigation, blood pressure and cholesterol management and the prescribing of anti-platelet or anti-coagulant medicine and flu vaccination. These measures assist primary care practitioners to reduce the risk of patients having a recurrent stroke or TIA.
	The stroke strategy outlines the need to ensure systems are in place locally for key prevention measures e.g. management of hypertension and smoking cessation to those who have had a stroke or TIA.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to paragraph 7.4.6 of the UK Renewable Energy Strategy consultation document, what recent assessment he has made of greenhouse gas emissions associated with biomass in relation to the reporting requirements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on carbon-neutral energy sources.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 19 March 2009
	The UK Government's National Inventory Report to the UNFCCC is due on 15 April. This will provide estimates of historical emissions, by sector, including biomass until 2007.
	An assessment of the impact of announced policies by sector will be included in our UK 5(th) National Communication to the UNFCCC, which we hope to publish this summer.

Carbon Emissions: Buildings

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when phase 2 of the low carbon buildings grant will end; and what arrangements have been put in place for a replacement.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 2 February 2009
	 Phase two of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme will close to new applications on 30 June 2009. We are currently considering next steps post June 2009.
	A feed-in tariffs (FITs) mechanism for small-scale, low-carbon electricity generation is currently being developed. We will consult on the details of the scheme this summer and FITs will be in place in April 2010.
	A mechanism for a Renewable Heat Incentive is also being developed and the details of this scheme will also be consulted on. We intend to have the RHI in place in April 2011.

Carbon Sequestration

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the development of carbon capture and storage technologies.

Mike O'Brien: The Government's policy on carbon, capture and storage was most recently set out in the Energy White Paper, 2007 and the Carbon Abatement Technology (CAT) Strategy for Fossil Fuel Use in the UK, 2005. These policies were underpinned by a number of studies and reports, some specifically commissioned by the Government such as:
	Review on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS), 2003:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file21887.pdf
	The Role of Fossil Fuel Carbon Abatement Technologies in a Low Carbon Energy SystemA Report on Analysis Undertaken to Advise on DTI's CAT Strategy, 2005:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file19834.pdf
	Industrial Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential in the UK, 2006:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file35684.pdf.
	The Government also take account of the work of others such as the:
	IEA Energy Technologies Perspectives http://www.iea.org/Textbase/techno/etp/index.asp
	European Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel PlansCO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) Matrix of Technologies
	Advanced Power Generation Technology Forum
	Most recently, the Advisory Committee on Carbon Abatement Technologies (ACCAT) has set out its views on how Government should review their CAT Strategy in its advisory document on Accelerating the Deployment of Carbon Abatement Technologies with special focus on Carbon Capture and Storage, 2009:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file50028.pdf.
	The Government will be taking this into account as they develop their future policies on CCS.

Departmental Art Works

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which works of art from the Government Art Collection each Minister in his Department has selected for display in a private office.

Mike O'Brien: No Minister within this Department has currently selected any works of art from the Government Art Collection for any private office.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff in his Department were disciplined for  (a) bullying and  (b) harassment of colleagues in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: Since the Department's creation on 3 October 2008 no one has been disciplined in those circumstances.

Departmental Location

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff in his Department have their main place of work outside London.

Mike O'Brien: In February 2009 DECC had 74 staff whose main place of work was outside London.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in his Department since its inception.

Mike O'Brien: Costs incurred on reimbursable expenses in 2008-09 will be available only when the Department's resource accounts are fully audited and laid before Parliament. This is expected to be before the 2009 summer recess.

Departmental Performance Appraisal

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many members of staff in his Department are subject to a performance-based bonus system.

Mike O'Brien: DECC was created on 3 October 2008 when staff were transferred from BERR and DEFRA. Work is currently being undertaken to design the DECC pay systems. These will need to be approved by HMT and negotiated with the trade unions for implementation later in the year. In line with civil service pay policy, the DECC pay arrangements will include a performance-based bonus scheme which will cover all staff but no decisions have been taken so far on the proportion of staff in any year who will actually receive a bonus.

Departmental Surveys

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has conducted a recent survey of the level of staff morale within his Department.

Mike O'Brien: No.

Deposited Papers

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what procedures his Department has in place to ensure that undertakings to place documents in the Library are fulfilled.

Mike O'Brien: Since 26 January 2009, when the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Parliamentary Unit was set up, officials from the unit check all written answers to parliamentary questions, written ministerial statements, ministerial correspondence and debates in the Chamber to record instances where a Minister commits the Department to place a document in the Libraries of the House. The Parliamentary Unit then arranges this and maintains an electronic record.
	Prior to 26 January 2009 this activity was undertaken jointly by the Parliamentary Units of BERR and DEFRA.

Electric Cables

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) mileage and  (b) percentage of new power lines was laid (i) underground and (ii) overground in each of the last 30 years.

Mike O'Brien: The Department is unable to provide historical data covering the last 30-year period. Ofgem the industry regulator has provided comprehensive data covering the periods 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 for both transmission and distribution networks across England, Wales and Scotland. These details are contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Kilometres/percentage 
			   Total added  Overhead  Underground  Percentage underground 
			 2005-06 10,368 3,162 7,206 70 
			 2006-07 7,685 1,941 5,744 75 
			 2007-08 8,582 2,225 6,357 74 
		
	
	A large amount of new power lines are low voltage distribution lines in urbanised areas.

Electricity Generation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the average cost per unit of electricity generated from each type of renewable source.

Mike O'Brien: The generation cost of different technologies are measured in terms of levelised costs and are presented on a  per megawatt hour basis. The Government have carried out analysis on generation costs in some detail in recent years to inform policy decisions. Some of these estimates have been published as part of the Energy Review (2006). 2008 estimates suggest the following indicative costs (/MWh) associated with generating lMWh of electricity from renewable sources:
	
		
			   /MWh 
			 Onshore wind (80MW) 70 
			 Offshore wind (100MW) 92 
			 Biomass regular 80-90 
			 Biomass energy crop 110-120 
			 Biomass CHP 80-90 
			 Wave 160-190 
			 Tidal stream 150-180 
			 Tidal range 130-160 
			 Biowaste 90-110 
			 Biogas 170-200

Energy: Consumers

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is undertaking to promote the benefits of energy supplier switching to energy consumers who have not previously switched supplier.

Mike O'Brien: The Department has funded with Ofgem the Energy Best Deal, a pilot scheme to train front-line advice workers to help low income householders get the best deal on energy bills. Last year, Ofgem conducted a probe into energy markets, which found that some customers needed more information to help them participate effectively in the market. Ofgem is now considering what other means can be used to increase customers' involvement in the market.

Energy: Meters

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with energy supply companies on the use of pre-payment gas and electricity meters; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 23 February 2009
	Ministers have met with energy suppliers and discussed a range of issues in the energy supply markets. Following the results of the Ofgem probe into energy markets, Ministers have emphasised to suppliers that they expect all consumers to be treated fairly, whatever the method they use to pay for their gas and electricity supply.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the use of revenues generated from the auctioning of pollution allowances in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for the construction of new unabated but carbon capture ready coal-fired power plant, as referred to in the EU energy package; and what plans he has to discuss the use of these revenues with his EU counterparts.

Mike O'Brien: EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) auction revenues will not be hypothecated to support the construction of new unabated carbon-capture ready coal-fired power plant.
	In December 2008, the European Council adopted a political declaration indicating EU member states' willingness to spend at least half of the auction revenues under the revised EU Emissions Trading System to tackle climate change both in the EU and in developing countries. This will include reducing emissions, adapting to climate change, developing renewable technologies and providing for the environmentally safe capture and storage of greenhouse gases.
	In addition to this, the revised Emissions Trading System Directive provides for 300 million emissions allowances to be made available until the end of 2015 from the new entrant reserve to co-fund up to 12 commercial scale demonstrations of environmentally safe carbon capture and storage and innovative renewable energy technologies to provide an incentive for their rapid development.

Government Communications

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies (i) are classified as Government communicators and (ii) have access to the Government Communication Network.

Mike O'Brien: DECC has 13 members of staff who are classified as Government communicators and have access to the Government Communication Network. These include:
	One Director of Communications
	One Head of News
	One Chief Press Officer
	Four Press Officers
	Six Marketing officers
	DECC has no executive agencies.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letter to him dated 15 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. R. Allan.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State replied to my right hon. Friend on 17 March 2009.

Natural Gas

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of natural gas used in the UK in 2008 came from  (a) UK Continental Shelf production,  (b) imports from Norway,  (c) imports from the Russian Federation and  (d) other sources.

Mike O'Brien: Provisional data for 2008 show that the UK's gross demand (including exports) for natural gas was sourced as follows:  (a) Net production of natural gas from the UK Continental Shelf, 65 per cent.,  (b) from Norway, 25 per cent.,  (c) from the Russian Federation, negligible, and  (d) from other sources, 10 per cent. (8 per cent. from the Netherlands).
	Monthly imports and exports of natural gas by country are published in Energy Trends Table 4.3 on the DECC/BERR website at this address
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/energy/statistics/source/gas/page18525.html.

Nuclear Power Stations

Kim Howells: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many  (a) Health and Safety Executive and  (b) Nuclear Installations Inspectorate staff work (i) full-time and (ii) part-time on the generic design assessment (GDA) of new power station designs; and how many such staff he expects to work on the GDA in each of the next three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The amount of time Nuclear Inspectors in the Health and Safety Executive spent on generic design assessment (GDA) in the last two quarters was:
	
		
			   Days 
			 Quarter 3 for 2008-09 1,004 
			 Quarter 4 for 2008-09 805.5 
		
	
	This is entirely made up of Nuclear Installations Inspectorate staff working on GDA. Approximately 7 per cent. of this effort is from staff not dedicated just to GDA, so only working part-time on GDA.
	We expect around 25 Inspectors to be working on GDA up to mid June 2011. It is too early to estimate how many Inspectors will be working on the new nuclear build programme after that date.

Renewable Energy: Public Consultation

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish a list of  (a) respondents and  (b) responses to the Government's consultation on the UK Renewable Energy Strategy.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 19 March 2009
	The summary of responses to the Renewable Energy Strategy consultation and the full text of responses are available online at:
	http://renewableconsultation.berr.gov.uk/consultation

JUSTICE

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in his Department have been subject to disciplinary action for breaches of IT security policy in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The Department takes data security very seriously and new mandated measures to improve and strengthen controls in the protection of personal data were introduced following the Government's Review of Data Handling last year. Since the Ministry was established in May 2007, central records show that 19 staff in 2007 and 37 staff in 2008 were subject to disciplinary action for breaches of IT security policy. The types of incidents would have included, but not exclusively, mis-use of e-mail and internet browsing. None of the incidents compromised the integrity of the Department's IT systems.

Entry Clearances: Appeals

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many family visitor visa appeals were  (a) received and  (b) upheld in each of the last six years.

Bridget Prentice: The number of family visitor visa appeals that were received and granted by an adjudicator/immigration judge in each of the last six years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Appeal receipts  Appeals allowed 
			 2003-04 16,884 (1)7,275 
			 2004-05 30,643 (1)12,384 
			 2005-06 58,495 12,793 
			 2006-07 50,065 24,638 
			 2007-08(2) 64,669 21,755 
			 April to December 2008(2) 50,009 16,143 
			 (1 )Outcomes data were not published prior to April 2005. The allowed figures for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are estimates based on the distribution of outcomes from an alternative data source.  (2) Data are provisional and subject to final reconciliation.

Extradition: USA

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much HM Courts Service has spent in relation to cases of extradition of people to the United States in each year since 2001.

Bridget Prentice: HM Courts Service does not maintain records relating to the costs of extradition hearings. HM Courts Service would have to undertake a manual exercise to obtain the data required to answer the question. HM Court Service considers the costs of such an exercise would incur a disproportionate cost.

Firearms: Young People

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged  (a) 14 to 17 and  (b) 18 to 21 years old have been prosecuted for firearms offences in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: Information on the number of persons found guilty at all courts for firearm offences in England and Wales 2001 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for firearm offences in England and Wales, by age group, 2001 - 07( 1, 2) 
			   Proceeded against 
			   Age 14-17  Age 18-21 
			 2001 496 698 
			 2002 419 643 
			 2003 398 604 
			 2004 538 674 
			 2005 556 685 
			 2006 470 559 
			 2007 501 586 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform: Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Haverigg Prison

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average annual cost of accommodating an inmate in HM Prison Haverigg since 1997 has been.

David Hanson: The full average cost per prisoner at Haverigg prison has not been calculated for each year requested. This information was not until recently gathered in this format and to produce it would incur disproportionate costs. However the direct cost per prisoner at Haverigg is published in the annual accounts of Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is set out in the following table.
	These costs represent the direct costs only; that is expenditure accounted for at prison establishment level. The year on year figures may not be strictly comparable due to accounting changes over the period.
	For 2007-08, an overall cost per prisoner has been calculated taking into account costs met centrally by the Prison Service and the National Offender Management Service. These are primarily property costs (in particular depreciation and cost of capital) but also include some headquarter overheads and other costs met centrally. On this basis the overall cost per prisoner at Haverigg, for 2007-08 was 34,815, and includes some estimation.
	
		
			   Cost per prisonerHM  Prison  Haverigg () 
			 2007-08 24,450 
			 2006-07 22,304 
			 2005-06 21,704 
			 2004-05 21,299 
			 2003-04 20,264 
			 2002-03 18,086 
			 2001-02 17,195 
			 2000-01 21,551 
			 1999-2000 23,464 
			 1998-99(1) 18,207 
			 1997-98 16,700 
			 1996-97 17,300 
			 (1 )The cost for 1998-99 is cost per prisoner place.

Immigration: Appeals

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many immigration appeals were  (a) received from and  (b) granted in relation to people from (i) India, (ii) Pakistan and (iii) Nigeria in each of the last six years.

Bridget Prentice: The number of immigration appeals received and granted in relation to appeals from people from India, Pakistan and Nigeria in the last six years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Appeal receipts  Appeals allowed 
			   India  Nigeria  Pakistan  India  Nigeria  Pakistan 
			 2003-04 2,581 2,334 1,392 111 491 622 
			 2004-05 4,288 1,976 4,646 1,622 759 1,308 
			 2005-06 10,791 10,296 17,351 2,220 764 3,366 
			 2006-07 9,762 11,019 13,547 3,862 3,904 5,468 
			 2007-08 13,926 10,240 19,270 4,201 3,175 5,793 
			 2008-09 (April to December 2008)(1) 12,779 7,289 13,634 4,029 2,180 5,682 
			 (1) Data are provisional and subject to reconciliation.

Legal Aid: Housing

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for acts of assistance relating to housing were received by the Legal Services Commission in each Government region in each quarter of  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09; how many such applications were accepted; how much has been spent on them; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: The information will take the Legal Services Commission several days to obtain. I will write to the hon. Member once the information becomes available.

Legal Aid: Housing

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Greater London have received assistance from each of the desks established in courts to provide free legal representation at repossession hearings in each month since the scheme's inception.

Shahid Malik: A table showing the number of people who have received assistance from Legal Services Commission funded schemes for repossession hearings at courts in Greater London in each month since the scheme's inception at that court has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Libel: Legal Aid

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make available legal aid for libel cases in which members of the medical profession are stating medical opinion.

Shahid Malik: There are no plans to make legal aid available for libel cases. We believe it is not in the public interest to allocate the limited resources available for legal aid to these types of cases, particularly as libel cases can be funded by Conditional Fee Agreements.

Magistrates Courts

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment his Department has made of the willingness of businesses to release employees to fulfil magistracy duties in the current economic situation.

Jack Straw: My Department and advisory committees undertake continuous work with employers both to encourage them to support employees wishing to serve as magistrates, and to highlight the benefits to them of employees being trained, and serving as, magistrates.
	The Government will continue to encourage employers to support employees who wish to serve as magistrates. Attracting those in full-time employment can impact positively on the diversity of the magistracy in respect of age. In 2008, of 1,700 new magistrates, 46 per cent. were under 50 years of age, compared to 19 per cent. in the magistracy as a whole.

Magistrates: Barnsley

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates on the Barnsley Magistrates' Bench resided in  (a) Barnsley Central constituency,  (b) Barnsley West and Penistone constituency and  (c) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Jack Straw: There are currently 115 magistrates in the Barnsley local justice area.
	 (a) 36 magistrates live in the constituency of Barnsley Central
	 (b) 50 magistrates live in the constituency of Barnsley West and Penistone
	 (c) 15 magistrates live in the constituency of Barnsley East and Mexborough.
	10 magistrates live in other constituencies and four had invalid postcodes recorded.
	My Department does not hold a central record of the constituencies in which magistrates live. We are undertaking a manual exercise in order to provide the historical information sought, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent by West Yorkshire Drugs and Offender Management Unit on its Integrated Offender Management Programme in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009.

David Hanson: Integrated Offender Management is a locally agreed, multi-agency approach to reducing crime through punishing and reforming persistent offenders. IOM is a relatively new concept and there was no central funding of West Yorkshire before 2008-09. In 2008-09, the Home Office and Ministry of Justice together allocated 550,000 to support the development of Integrated Offender Management in West Yorkshire. This money was received by the Drugs and Offender Management Unit in West Yorkshire police on behalf of the multi-agency Integrated Offender Management partnership in West Yorkshire. We expect the allocation for 2009-10 to be 395,000. The core funding of criminal justice agencies also supports this work.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much time was spent by the Yorkshire and Humber Offender Management Service interviewing and informing offenders that discriminatory behaviour is unacceptable in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009.

David Hanson: Tackling prejudice and discrimination is one of the aims of offender management and it is standard practice for offenders to be advised about the implications of discriminatory behaviour during the induction process. The information requested is not available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, however, in the four probation areas that make up the Yorkshire and Humberside region of the National Offender Management Service, 16,715 offenders started community or suspended sentence orders during 2006 and 18,079 during 2007. Each offender will have gone through an induction process. Section 2c.7 of the National Standards for the Management of Offenders requires probation areas to induct offenders into the sentence at the start of a community order.
	Similarly induction procedures into prison establishments require prisons to emphasise the prison policy on the Race Relations Act and establish standards of behaviour. There were 125,881 first receptions into prison establishments in 2007 and 128,986 in 2006. The data are not broken down by region.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much time was spent by the Yorkshire and Humber Offender Management Service on the delivery of restrictive interventions to offenders in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009.

David Hanson: For the purposes of this reply, we are taking restrictive interventions to mean the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, Approved Premises, Home Detention Curfew and certain licence conditions.
	It is not possible, on the basis of information held by the Yorkshire and Humberside region or by each probation area within that region, to disaggregate and isolate from general probation activity the amount of time spent on the delivery of each of those restrictive interventions to offenders. To require this information to be collected would incur disproportionate cost.
	Restrictive interventions are used to manage the risk of harm which offenders in the community present and so protect the public.

Open Prisons: Prisoner Escapes

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inmates  (a) escaped and  (b) absconded from each open prison in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: Absconds have fallen to less than half the levels they were 10 years ago while there have been no prison escapes so far this financial year compared to 10 to 20 escapes per year a decade ago. Escapes occur when prisoners unlawfully absent themselves from custody by overcoming a physical barrier or restraint. Absconds occur from open prisons when prisoners absent themselves without needing to overcome a physical barrier or restraint. Prisoners can escape from an open prison if they are being held temporarily in secure conditions within the open prison such as in segregation.
	The following table shows the number of prisoners who have absconded from each open prison since 1997. In addition to the figures shown in this table, one prisoner escaped from HMP Thorn Cross in 1999.
	
		
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Askham Grange 35 17 20 21 19 12 31 12 14 7 11 
			 Blantyre House 11 1  1 1   
			 Drake Hall 122 134 94 39 33  1 
			 East Sutton Park 5 3 3 3 3  1 2 4 2  
			 Ford 53 40 68 57 57 91 142 110 96 62 47 
			 Grendon/Springhill 20 9 14 14 12 23 60 36 34 11 21 
			 Hatfield 77 80 36 34 50 56  
			 Hewell Grange 40 17 32 20 15 23 31 24 24 13 15 
			 Hollesley Bay 13 25 11 24 8 14 36 32 16 21 19 
			 Kirkham 234 202 171 169 163 208 213 120 74 54 65 
			 Kirklevington  21  4 2   
			 Latchmere House 2   1 2 1  
			 Leyhill 20 25 34 25 19 33 114 102 66 37 55 
			 Moorland 1 1 68 73 49 41 23 
			 Morton Hall 20 15 23 6  1  
			 North Sea Camp 25 32 27 24 36 34 79 33 49 48 46 
			 Norwich (resettlement unit) 21   8 2 2 1 
			 Standford Hill 35 36 43 29 37 83 89 39 58 38 44 
			 Sudbury 81 75 63 69 81 68 75 77 76 78 55 
			 Thorn Cross 168 135 147 110 135 152 130 90 105 82 68 
			 Usk/Prescoed 7 13 19 14 5 8 35 19 9 9 8 
			 Wealstun 48 70 72 105 79 101 144 74 28 46 32 
			  Notes: 1. Colchester closed during 1998 2. Drake Hall changed role to Semi Open in 2001-02 from Open 3. Hatfield merged with Moorland in 2003-04 4. Kirklevington changed role to Semi Open in 2001-02 from Category C 5. Latchmere House changed role to Semi Open in 2001-02 from Open 6. Morton Hall changed role to Semi Open in 2001 -02 from Open 7. NorwichOpen Resettlement Unit 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	Figures on absconds and a range of other prison performance statistics are available at:
	http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/abouttheservice/prisonperformance/performancestatistics/

Police Custody

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what offences prisoners placed in police and court cells under Operation Safeguard had been convicted.

Jack Straw: Under current arrangements both convicted and remand prisoners can be held over night under Operation Safeguard and court cells. Police cells under Operation Safeguard have not been used to house prisoners since 22 September 2008 and court cells have not been used since 28 February 2008.
	A list of specific offences that prisoners had been convicted of, or charged with, is not held centrally. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However (as per Prison Service Instruction 30/2006) every effort is made to avoid the use of police and court cells for certain categories of prisoner including:
	prisoners with a crown court trial in progress (including those from the Court of Appeal);
	all category A prisoners including potential category A prisoners (a prisoner whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or the police or the security of the state and for whom the aim must be to make escape impossible).

Police Custody: Food

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the daily expenditure per prisoner on meals for prisoners held in police and court cells in each year since 2003.

Jack Straw: Under an agreement between NOMS and ACPO there is an upper limit to the amount the police may charge for the provision of meals for prisoners held overnight in police cells under Operation Safeguard. Forces may be paid up to 12 for each prisoner over a 24-hour period. Only under exceptional circumstances can this figure be exceeded.
	NOMS is invoiced by police forces in arrears for the use of cells activated under Operation Safeguard. NOMS also receives invoices in arrears from contractors for use of court cells.
	Expenditure on meals provided for prisoners held in police and court cells is not readily available from invoices submitted. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Mentally Ill

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate his Department has made of the  (a) number and  (b) proportion of the prison population with one or more mental health condition, broken down by condition; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The Government have commissioned my noble Friend, Lord Keith Bradley to carry out a review on offenders with mental health and learning disability problems. There is a Government commitment to publishing the Bradley review report during April 2009.
	The most recent estimates for mental health of the prisoner population of England and Wales come from Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR), from 2005-06. There is also an older Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (PMS) among prisoners (1997). There is a measure of comparability across relevant results from the two surveys.
	Across the two surveys, the range of prevalence rates for any functional psychosis was between 7 per cent. and 9 per cent. for sentenced males, and 14 per cent. and 18 per cent. for sentenced females.
	Also across the two surveys, the range of prevalence rates for any personality disorder was between 62 per cent. and 64 per cent. for sentenced males, and 57 per cent. and 59 per cent. for sentenced females.
	Figures for neurotic conditions such as anxiety and depression were not obtained in the same way in the two surveys. Focusing just on the more recent SPCR figures (using the Maudsley Addiction Profile), and using a threshold of six symptoms, 34 per cent. of sentenced male prisoners and 56 per cent. of sentenced female prisoners were appreciably affected by anxiety/depression and other neurotic conditions.
	Neither set of survey results has been translated from percentage figures into estimates of numbers of prisoners.
	Further information on the results of these two surveys can be found in the published reports. These are, for SPCR, The Problems and Needs of Newly Sentenced Prisoners: Results from a National Survey Ministry of Justice Research Series 16/08 (2008). For PSM: Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales: Summary Report (ONS, 1998).
	SPCR:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-2008.htm
	PSM:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/Prisoners_PsycMorb.pdf

Prisoners: Mentally Ill

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of the prison population have been held in  (a) NHS and  (b) independent sector mental healthcare places in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Centrally held information is not available to answer all parts of the question posed. The annual statistical bulletin on mentally disordered offenders for England and Wales over the last 10 years for which figures are available gives the number of mentally disordered offenders admitted to hospital from prison, detained in hospital following transfer from prison and transferred back to prison from hospital (while un-sentenced and after sentencing) are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Admitted to hospital from prison after sentence 258 267 270 222 223 296 346 356 421 394 
			 Admitted to hospital from prison while un-sentenced 481 464 392 413 421 426 485 478 473 479 
			 Detained in hospital following transfer after sentence 402 385 386 402 410 489 505 561 627 684 
			 Detained in hospital while un-sentenced 168 151 151 160 141 174 189 218 175 284 
			 Returned to prison from hospital to resume sentence 93 130 100 84 100 96 135 113 164 154 
			 Returned to prison from hospital whilst un-sentenced 35 40 32 40 55 54 54 47 58 60 
		
	
	These figures are drawn from tables 2, 6 and 9 of Statistics of Mentally Disordered Offenders 2007: England and Wales, which can be downloaded from:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/mentally-disordered-offenders-2007.pdf
	It is not possible to differentiate between those held in NHS and independent sector mental health care places.

Prisons: Cleaning Services

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of centrally-managed prison laundry services was in 2007-08.

Jack Straw: While operating within an overall strategic and policy framework laundries within the public Prison Service are not managed centrally, running costs having been devolved to establishment level some years ago. As a result, relatively little information about operating costs is held centrally. To collect this information from each establishment would attract disproportionate cost.
	In 2007-08, Prison Industries Headquarters allocated funding to establishments for industrial laundry materials and maintenance to the value of 783,500. A further 376,000 was allocated for capital plant replacement.
	In 2007-08 there were 43 industrial laundries together with a significant number of local launderettes.

Prisons: Food

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the daily expenditure per prisoner on prison meals in each year since 2003.

David Hanson: The average public sector Prison Service daily food expenditure per prisoner in England and Wales since 2003-04 to 2007-08 (latest available data) is set out in the table.
	Individual governors of public sector prisons have had the authority to set their own catering budgets since 1994 and there is no set financial formula that prisons are required to follow when setting establishment food budgets. Governors make choices on the budget allocated to food based on a variety of issues including the prisoner population and the type of regime.
	Average expenditure per prisoner includes all food and beverage requirements. Prisons provide breakfast, midday and evening meal and a supper snack together with all condiments and beverages. Menu requirements vary between establishments and are based on consumer preferences, local regimes and seasonal availability.
	
		
			  Financial year  Average public sector Prison Service daily food expenditure per prisoner( 1)  () 
			 2003-04 1.81 
			 2004-05 1.87 
			 2005-06 1.93 
			 2006-07 1.97 
			 2007-08 2.12 
			 (1 )The daily food cost has been calculated using available management information from the Prison Service finance systems and assumes that all transactions have been allocated and recorded against the correct accounting codes.